What is "argyle"

"diamond-shaped pattern of two or more colors in fabric," said to be so called from similarity to tartans worn by Campbell clan of Argyll, Scotland. The place name is literally "land of the Gaels," from Old Irish airer "country." Argyle socks is from 1935.

n. 1 a pattern of diamond-shaped areas on a solid background; used especially of knitwear 2 a sock having this pattern

1. n. a covered gravy holder of silver or other metal containing a detachable central vessel for hot water to keep the gravy warm [syn: argyll]

2. a design consisting of a pattern of varicolored diamonds on a solid background (originally for knitted articles); patterned after the tartan of a clan in western Scotland [syn: argyll]

3. a sock knitted or woven with an argyle design [syn: argyles, argyll, argylls]

Argyle is an archaic spelling of Argyll, a county in western Scotland. Argyle may refer to:

An argyle (occasionally argyll) pattern is made of diamonds or lozenges. The word is sometimes used to refer to an individual diamond in the design but more commonly refers to the overall pattern. Most argyle contains layers of overlapping motifs, adding a sense of three-dimensionality, movement, and texture. Typically, there is an overlay of intercrossing diagonal lines on solid diamonds.

The argyle pattern is derived from the tartan of Clan Campbell, of Argyll in western Scotland, used for kilts and plaids, and from the patterned socks worn by Scottish Highlanders since at least the 17th century. (See illustrations in History of the kilt.) These were generally known as "tartan hose".

Argyle knitwear became fashionable in Great Britain and then the USA after the first world war. Pringle of Scotland popularised the design, helped by its identification with the Duke of Windsor. Pringle's website says that "the iconic Pringle argyle design was developed" in the 1920s. The duke, like others, used this pattern for golf clothing: both for jerseys and for the long socks needed for the plus-fours trouser fashion of the day.

Payne Stewart (1957–1999), who won the U.S. Open and a PGA championship, was known and loved by fans for his bright and "flashy" dress; he wore tams, knickerbockers, and argyle socks.

As a knitting pattern, argyle is generally accomplished using the intarsia technique. Argyle patterns are occasionally woven.

Some sports teams use bright, contemporary interpretations of the argyle pattern: for example, the Garmin-Slipstream professional cycling team, nicknamed the "Argyle Armada", and the Norwegian men's curling team at the 2010 Winter Olympics. On April 27, 2013 the professional soccer team Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States announced their third kit of the 2013 season featuring an argyle pattern. The University of North Carolina has used the argyle pattern for its basketball uniforms since 1991, and introduced it as alternate for all sports uniforms in 2015.

Argyle is a former provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada which existed between 1981-2013. It elected one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. In its last configuration, the electoral district included the Municipality of the District of Argyle, an Acadian area occupying the eastern half of Yarmouth County.

The electoral district was abolished following the 2012 electoral boundary review and was largely replaced by the new electoral district of Argyle-Barrington.