raglan
Meaning
Raglan describes a sleeve sewn in two straight, slanted lines from the neckline down to a point under the arm, so the sleeve continues to the collar instead of ending at a separate shoulder or armhole seam. The same word also names a loose overcoat made with those sleeves.
Meanings of “raglan”
A sleeve that extends to the neckline with slanted seams running from the underarm to the neck, rather than stopping at a separate shoulder seam.123
- Tone
- Neutral; clothing / sewing.
- Where you’ll see it
- Cambridge Dictionary defines raglan as an adjective for a sleeve "sewn in two straight lines out from the neck to a point under the arm," and gives the example "a sweater with raglan sleeves." Merriam-Webster's raglan sleeve entry says the sleeve "extends to the neckline with slanted seams from the underarm to the neck." Dictionary.com's British entry describes raglan as a coat "with sleeves that continue to the collar instead of having armhole seams," and as an adjective meaning "cut in this design," as in "a raglan sleeve." People searching raglan meaning or raglan definition usually want this clothing-construction sense.
Examples
- She knitted a sweater with raglan sleeves so the seams ran from the neck to under each arm.
- If you want to know what raglan means on a shirt, look for those two slanted seams instead of a regular shoulder seam.
- The pattern called for raglan sleeves, not a separate cap set into the armhole.
Examples are written for this site to show typical use. They are not quotes.
A loose overcoat made with raglan sleeves.43
- Tone
- Neutral; clothing / historical garment name.
- Where you’ll see it
- Merriam-Webster's first sense for the noun raglan is "a loose overcoat with raglan sleeves." Dictionary.com gives the same American noun sense. This older garment sense is how the word entered English as a noun; today the sleeve style is the meaning most clothing searches are after.
Examples
- The museum labeled the loose overcoat a raglan because of the way the sleeves met the collar.
- He wore a raglan on the wet walk home, the kind of coat defined by those diagonal sleeve seams.
Unlike a set-in sleeve, which is cut separately and stitched into an armhole, a raglan sleeve is not inserted at a separate shoulder or armhole seam; its seams run diagonally from neck to underarm.5613
- Tone
- Explanatory; sewing / garment construction.
- Where you’ll see it
- Merriam-Webster defines the adjective set-in as "cut separately and stitched in," with the example "set-in sleeves," and the verb set in as inserting something, "especially: to stitch (a small part) within a large article," as in "set in a sleeve of a dress." Dictionary.com defines set-in as "made separately and placed within another unit," and its British adjective sense as "(of a part) made separately and then added to a larger whole," with the example "a set-in sleeve." Its idioms note also includes "I still have to set in the sleeves and then the sweater will be done." That is the contrast with raglan: Cambridge and Dictionary.com describe raglan seams running from neck to underarm, or sleeves that continue to the collar instead of using armhole seams.
Examples
- A set-in sleeve is cut as its own piece and stitched into the armhole; a raglan sleeve keeps going up to the collar.
- The jacket used raglan sleeves instead of set-in sleeves, so there was no seam sitting on top of the shoulder.
Usage notes
- Raglan meaning, in everyday clothing search, almost always refers to the sleeve construction (or a sweatshirt or sweater that uses it), not a daily puzzle answer and not a brand or size guide. The noun can still mean the loose overcoat itself. Do not confuse the garment word with Lord Raglan the historical person, or with place names such as Raglan in Wales or New Zealand that appear in unrelated news examples.
- This entry defines the clothing term only. It is not a size chart, brand guide, or shopping list.
Origin
English took the name from FitzRoy James Henry Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788-1855), a British field marshal. Merriam-Webster dates the noun raglan to 1857 and the compound raglan sleeve to 1866. Dictionary.com dates raglan to 1860-65, after Lord Raglan.423
Sources
- raglan - Cambridge Dictionary (opens in a new tab)
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/raglan
- raglan sleeve - Merriam-Webster Dictionary (opens in a new tab)
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/raglan%20sleeve
- raglan - Dictionary.com (opens in a new tab)
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/raglan
- raglan - Merriam-Webster Dictionary (opens in a new tab)
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/raglan
- set-in - Merriam-Webster Dictionary (opens in a new tab)
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/set-in
- set-in - Dictionary.com (opens in a new tab)
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/set-in