Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A knitted garment, such as a sweater or jacket, that opens down the full length of the front.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A close-fitting knitted woolen jacket or waistcoat. Also called cardigan jacket.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • a slightly bow-legged variety of corgi having rounded ears and a long tail.
  • A warm jacket of knit worsted with or without sleeves, especially a knitted jacket with sleeves that is fastened up the front with buttons or a zipper.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A type of sweater or jumper that fastens up the front with buttons or a zipper, usually machine- or hand-knitted from wool.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun knitted jacket that is fastened up the front with buttons or a zipper
  • noun slightly bowlegged variety of corgi having rounded ears and a long tail

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[After the Seventh Earl of Cardigan, James Thomas Brudenell (1797–1868), British army officer.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Named after British military commander James Thomas Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan

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Examples

  • I just met what I call cardigan and bri nylon attitudes, 30 years out of date.

    WAG FAILS ON THE ECONOMY AGAIN Dylan Jones-Evans 2009

  • He in cardigan and tie, she in sleeveless, pleated dress, they evoked not Al and Peggy Bundy but Rob and Laura Petrie.

    'Dancing with the Stars' Week 5: We watch so you don't have to Lisa de Moraes 2010

  • The cardigan is perfect for tiredness and cider-on-Sunday.

    Archive 2009-06-01 Jean 2009

  • The cardigan is adorable, and it's nice that we saw the recipient in the wedding photos.

    Jean's Knitting Jean 2009

  • The cardigan is perfect for tiredness and cider-on-Sunday.

    Jean's Knitting Jean 2009

  • She was looking up steadily into the October sky, holding her thin cardigan stretched over her fast at the neck with both hands.

    CLOSER TO THE TRUTH • by Oonah V Joslin 2008

  • Why can a vest be both button and un -, while a cardigan is subject to such a narrow definition?

    Bury Me With The ‘Lo On | ATTACKERMAN 2008

  • I am of the opinion that a cardigan is by definition a button-front sleeved garment – vests rather unfairly can lay claim to anything without sleeves.

    Bury Me With The ‘Lo On | ATTACKERMAN 2008

  • The outer layer is usually referred to as a cardigan, for its traditional button-front design, whereas the under-layer can be anything from a cap-sleeve T-shirt silhouette to a tank top.

    The Style Checklist Lloyd Boston 2010

  • The outer layer is usually referred to as a cardigan, for its traditional button-front design, whereas the under-layer can be anything from a cap-sleeve T-shirt silhouette to a tank top.

    The Style Checklist Lloyd Boston 2010

Comments

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  • Some Crimean war trivia:

    Cardigan led the charge of the light brigade; Scarlett led the charge of the heavy brigade. The charge of the light brigade was immortalized in Tennyson’s 1854 poem of that name: the link light brigade has a recording of Tennyson himself reading the poem.

    It is less widely known that Tennyson also wrote a poem to honor the (successful) charge of the heavy brigade. For a text version of the second poem, see, e.g. heavy brigade

    December 19, 2007