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sweater

Menton1

Member
Etats Unis/English
On some visits to France, the salespeople at Galeries Lafayette referred to a sweater as a "cardigan" . Word Reference (our very own) says it's a "gilet" or a "pull" .

Can anyone help as to the preferred way of saying "sweater". Merci.
Hello,
For "sweater", you have "tricot", "pull", "pull-over"
Hope it helps
In Québec, you'll hear "chandail" a lot...
For "sweater", you have "tricot", "pull", "pull-over"
Is the main difference between un tricot and un pull the fact that un tricot can or does button up?
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All of the words listed here are equally correct and common. However, the salespeople at Lafayette's would not use any of these words, because they do not sound smart enough.
It is like when you buy a black car. The sales assistant does not call it a black car. They say it is anthracite.
I prefer "obsidian"!
I don't think there's any practical difference between tricot and pull -- I think it's a class thing, a bourgeois lady from Bordeaux would say tricot -- and to me, the gilet is a cardigan, which buttons up.
In Québec, you'll hear "chandail" a lot...

I can confirm that 👁 Smile :)
and tricot or pull.

On parle de chandail à col rond, chandail à col en V ou chandail à col roulé.
L'emprunt pullover de même que son abréviation pull sont attestés depuis les années 1920 en Europe, mais ces deux formes ne sont entrées que plus tard dans l'usage au Québec.
L'emprunt direct à l'anglais pullover ainsi que son abréviation pull ne sont pas retenus, car ils concurrencent inutilement les termes chandail et tricot déjà disponibles et historiquement implantés dans la langue usuelle.


Au fait... je croyais qu'un cardigan était une veste ouverte devant, avec boutons?? Ai-je raison ou non?
I must really have nothing better to do tonight -- just looked it up, and "un cardigan" is a word in Harraps. But un cardigan buttons up, just like my (British) mother's cardigans did.
I must really have nothing better to do tonight -- just looked it up, and "un cardigan" is a word in Harraps. But un cardigan buttons up, just like my (British) mother's cardigans did.

Thanks Ruk. I hadn't seen your post # 7 re: gilet 👁 Eek! :o
Hello,
"chandail" was the sweater of the vegetables sellers in the covered markets (garlic seller = marchand d'ail -> chand d'ail -> chandail) and is also a "pull over" = a knitwear that you put on by pulling it over your head
Hope it helps!
Now that's just too cool. Thanks for that bit of trivia...
From garlic merchants all the way to Maurice Richard, who would've guessed ?
Carnesecchi, elle est super votre explication étymologique. Je ne la connaissais pas, et je suis content que vous me l'ayez apprise.
Hello,
Mes deux plus grands plaisirs sont de résoudre des problèmes bizarres et de me (et vous par la même occasion) divertir en trouvant des petits trucs comme ça!
Je suis bien servi à WR!👁 Big Grin :D

Merci à tous!
Hello,
Et (avant que j'aille me coucher) : "cardigan" vient du vêtement porté par le comte de Cardigan (soldat en Crimée, je crois) et c'est (dixit le P'tit Larousse) "une veste de tricot, sans col, à manches longues et qui se boutonne par devant"
Bonne nuit!
Hello,
"chandail" was the sweater of the vegetables sellers in the covered markets (garlic seller = marchand d'ail -> chand d'ail -> chandail) and is also a "pull over" = a knitwear that you put on by pulling it over your head
Hope it helps!

Intéressant! Merci Luc. 👁 Smile :)
Camus uses "chandail" in his story "L'hôte," which is set in North Africa. So is "chandail" not used much in Le Métropole?

"Il faisait froid ; il rentra dans l'école pour chercher un chandail."

http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cach...'Hôte+camus+chandail&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=3


In American English:

"Sweater" is the generic term for the garment.

A "cardigan" is a sweater that buttons up the front, as in British English and in French, although it's a rather traditional word.

"Pullover" exists, but is rarely used.

A "crewneck" or "crew" is a relatively informal sweater with a round neck.

A sweater with short sleeves or with no sleeves in a light but finely made fabric is sometimes called a "shell" (women's sweaters only).

A shell paired with a matching cardigan and made in finely spun cotton or cashmere is called a "twinset" (again, women only).

A sweater with a collar shaped like a shawl, is called (surprise, surprise) a "shawl collar sweater."

I think British English also uses the term "jumper" for a sweater.

If anyone has more precise equivalents for the French terms, it would be helpful, but don't sweat it.*

*A pun. "Not to sweat something" means not to get anxious.
Hi Polaire (btw your screenname is very appropriate in this thread! 👁 Smile :)
)

chandail does exist in France, but it is getting increasingly old-fashioned. My older aunts use that word where we tend to say pull, pronounced with a French u, not like pull in English.
"I think AE also uses the term "jumper" for a sweater" -- that's British usage, actually. American usage is very confusing - it's a dress held up with braces, or sometimes a pair of trousers with a bib front and braces (which an English person would call dungarees).
jump·er 2 (jmpr)
n.
1. A sleeveless dress worn over a blouse or sweater.
2. A loose, protective garment worn over other clothes.
3. A child's garment consisting of straight-legged pants attached to a biblike bodice. Often used in the plural.
4. Chiefly British A pullover sweater.
"I think AE also uses the term "jumper" for a sweater" -- that's British usage, actually.
--By "AE" I meant "Anglo English" -- British English. I forgot which abbreviation was used in this forum. I've changed my post.

American usage is very confusing - it's a dress held up with braces,

--I'd describe a "jumper" as a dress- or apron-like like overgarment worn over a blouse. It's not usually held up with braces in my experience. It's not confusing at all to me, but I'm an American. 👁 Smile :)


or sometimes a pair of trousers with a bib front and braces (which an English person would call dungarees).

--I've never head overalls described as a jumper in the U.S., despite its presence in the dictionary.
I second that. I don't think that American usage is really confusing at all. To me a jumper is the dress. I'll admit it might be confusing (to a British person) that we say "overalls" for "dungarees", since we use the term "dungarees" to refer to different things as long as they're made from denim.
I second that. I don't think that American usage is really confusing at all. To me a jumper is the dress. I'll admit it might be confusing (to a British person) that we say "overalls" for "dungarees", since we use the term "dungarees" to refer to different things as long as they're made from denim.

Although where I live, "dungarees" is seldom heard anymore as a synonym for jeans or clothing made out of denim. People use "jeans," "denim," and speak of "overalls."
Yeah, that's true. I think I've heard denim overalls called "dungarees", but that's the only exception I can think of and it's pretty rare.
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