Named after the Channel Island of Jersey, famous for knitted goods since the sixteenth century.
A soft, stretchy knitted fabric; a knitted garment, especially a pullover or a shirt worn by athletes.
Named after the island of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands between England and France. The island name is of Norse origin, probably from Old Norse Geirrs ey (Geirr's island), combining the personal name Geirr (from *gaizaz, spear) with ey (island), from PIE *akʷeh₂- (water). Jersey had been famous for its knitted goods — particularly stockings and fishermen's sweaters — since the sixteenth century, when the island's wool trade was a major economic force. By the 1580s, jersey referred to a type of fine knitted fabric, and by the 1840s it denoted the close
Jersey and its neighbour Guernsey both gave their names to knitted garments. In Australia, 'guernsey' is used for a sports jersey ('to get a guernsey' means to be selected for a team). The tiny Channel Islands thus contributed two words to English clothing vocabulary — one for each of the two largest islands, which have a combined population of about 170,000.