Blazer

How to spell blazer

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce blazer

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does blazer mean?

1. nounA smart, often single-breasted jacket worn as part of a uniform or as semi-formal wear.

Blazer in a sentence

• He wore a navy blazer over an open-collared shirt to the interview.

• The school uniform includes a grey blazer with the crest on the pocket.

Where does blazer come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

Blazer comes from the English word 'blaze', meaning a bright flame or a brilliant burst of colour, which traces back to the Old English 'blaese' for a torch or bright fire and has Germanic roots tied to shining and burning. The jacket sense appeared in the 1880s and was named for the vivid, flaming-red colour of the garments rather than for any practical feature. The story most often told credits the bright scarlet jackets worn by the rowers of the Lady Margaret Boat Club at Cambridge, which were said to 'blaze' on the river. From those striking sporting coats the name spread to the brass-buttoned jackets of clubs, schools, and yacht crews. The spelling keeps the silent 'e' of 'blaze' before the '-er' ending, which is the small point writers occasionally slip on, although the word is largely regular.

How the word is built

• blaze (bright flame, brilliant colour)
• -er (noun suffix, agent or associated thing)