English Reference
noun · verb

shirt

n. · v.
US /ˈʃɝt/ UK /ʃˈɜːt/ shirt UK spelling shirts

  1. 01 A1 Beginner

    n.a piece of clothing for the top half of your body, often with a collar and buttons.

    n.a garment worn on the upper body, typically made of cotton or similar fabric and featuring a collar and sleeves.

    Simple

    He wore a clean white shirt and a tie for his job interview.

    In context

    The tailor recommended a breathable linen shirt for the outdoor summer wedding to ensure the groom remained comfortable in the heat.

  2. 02 B2 Upper Intermediate Informal Sport

    n.a person on a team that wears shirts during a casual game.

    n.a member of the team wearing jerseys or shirts in an informal 'shirts and skins' match.

    Simple

    The players split into two groups: the shirts and the skins.

    In context

    Since we didn't have bibs for the football match, the captain decided that our side would be the shirts.

  3. 03 C2 Proficiency Literary

    v.to put a shirt on someone or something.

    v.to clothe or cover with a shirt; often used figuratively or in literary contexts.

    Simple

    The mother carefully shirted her young son before the family photo.

    In context

    The poet described the mountains as being shirted in a thick layer of morning mist.

    unshirt

Usage shirt sponsor


Etymology 1

From Middle English sherte, shurte, schirte, from Old English sċyrte (“a short garment; skirt; kirtle”), from Proto-West Germanic skurtijā, from Proto-Germanic skurtijǭ (“a short garment, skirt, apron”), from *skurtaz (“short”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Schoarte (“apron”), Dutch schort (“apron”), German Schürze (“apron”), Danish skjorte (“shirt”), Norwegian skjorte (“shirt”), Swedish skjorta (“shirt”), Faroese skjúrta (“shirt”), Icelandic skyrta (“shirt”). Doublet of skirt via Old Norse; further related to short.

Etymology 2

From Middle English sherten, shirten (also shorten), from the noun (see above).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin gem-pro *skurtijǭ
Level A1 · Beginner
Frequency Common
Updated