#22: Peysa

Today's word is one that should come in handy now that winter is on the horizon... even if, so far, this month has been underwhelmingly warm. It's peysa, and it means "sweater" (or "jumper" for those of you overseas).

The etymology of the word peysa is somewhat unclear. One account points to a French origin; it is said that when French fishmermen first saw Icelanders wearing knitted sweaters, they yelled "Paysan! Paysan!," which is the French word for "farmer." The Icelanders, however, misunderstood and thought that the fishermen were pointing at their garments, which they then began calling peysur in imitation. It's a nice story, somewhat reminiscent of the story behind the word "kangaroo", but unfortunately it (like the kangaroo myth) is generally considered to be a false etymology. Instead, it's more likely that the word is a very old borrowing from middle German or middle Dutch. In particular, it might be cognate with the Middle High German wambeis or the Dutch wambuis, both of which mean "gambeson" (a type of knitted jacket worn as or under armor). These words could have been shortened to beis or buis (the latter of which is actually attested in Dutch), and then have entered Icelandic as peysa. Given that Iceland has had good trade relations with both Germany and the Netherlands, this scenario is definitely plausible.

If you ever visit Iceland, you will probably see lopapeysur, like the black ones pictured above, for sale. These are sweaters made specifically from lopi (Icelandic sheep's wool), which is especially warm and comfortable. Other compounds include bómullarpeysa (cotton sweater), flíspeysa (fleece sweater), hettupeysa (hoodie, literally "cap sweater"), and ullarpeysa (wool sweater). All of these, though, can simply be referred to as peysur in casual conversation, unless the distinction is important (e.g. if you're out clothes shopping and specifically want a fleece).

WORD SUMMARY:

peys/a, -u, -ur (f): sweater

Posted in: Clothing, Iceland, Nouns