DSL - SND1 GANSEY , n. Also ganzy, -ie, genzie, -y, gensy, gensee, guenzie.[Sc. ˈgɑnzi, but Crm., Mry., Lnk., Ayr., Kcb. ˈgɛnzi] 1. A jersey, esp. one worn by fishermen (I. and n.Sc., Lth., Lnk., Ayr., Kcb., Uls. 1954). Also in Eng. dial. Cf. Garnsey .
*Sh. 1886J. Burgess Sk. & Poems 68:
He rubbit aff da shute wi’ da sleeve o’ his gansey.
*Sh. 1916J. Burgess Rasmie’s Smaa Murr, Navember 15:
A gansey-sleeve wi a airm in it aye maks da boaniest belt.
*Bnff. 1923 Banffshire Jnl. (5 June) 5:
Here he comes, basket on shoulder, short and sturdy, the upper part of his body sheathed in a “gansey,” always blue.
*Abd. 1935J. White Sea Road i.:
For a long afternoon he lumbered, in a sweat from high-necked gansey to his big sea-boots.
*Bnff. 1950N. Paterson Behold Thy Daughter 54:
She knitted her father a black fisherman’s ganzy with buttons up the side of the neck.
2. A blue-striped cotton shirt; a farmer’s short jacket made of galatea (Ayr. 4 1928).
[Corrupt or variant forms of Eng. guernsey, idem. The form Garnsey (as place-name) is found in 16th cent. Eng. The dropping of the -r- suggests that the word has been borrowed from Eng. dial.]