First recorded in 1865–70; named after J. T. Brudnell, 7th Earl of Cardigan (1797–1868), British cavalryman of Crimean War fame
A cardigan is a sweater that opens in front. Your favorite cardigan might have pearl buttons and pockets. Unlike a sweater that you pull on over your head, a cardigan is shrugged on over the shoulders and buttons, zips, or snaps up the front — or is worn open, with no fasteners at all. During the Crimean War in the 1800s, English general James Thomas Brudenell's troops wore jackets that opened in front, and since he was the 7th Earl of Cardigan, these garments — and future open-front sweaters — were known as cardigans.
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Dressed in thrift-store finds, a flowy dress with a half-buttoned cardigan, Blevins packs a hipster style that’s chic without playing the fashion game.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2026
Wednesday's Instagram post showed a picture of Van Der Beek wearing a white top and cardigan.
From Barron's • Feb. 11, 2026
And I had this cardigan on, which was full of mohair, so it was in my throat, in my nose, in my eyes, and it started to affect my voice.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 15, 2025
Jessica, who is wearing cheetah-print leggings, an orange-fringed cardigan and long green feather earrings as she video calls the BBC, says her boyfriend still puts effort in and "always looks great".
From BBC • Oct. 5, 2025
Jule shrugged into a green cardigan and picked up her case.
From "Genuine Fraud" by E. Lockhart
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
