Glove
Encyclopedia
Hand
A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered extremity located at the end of an arm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs...
. Gloves have separate sheaths or openings for each finger
Finger
A finger is a limb of the human body and a type of digit, an organ of manipulation and sensation found in the hands of humans and other primates....
and the thumb
Thumb
The thumb is the first digit of the hand. When a person is standing in the medical anatomical position , the thumb is the lateral-most digit...
; if there is an opening but no covering sheath for each finger they are called "fingerless gloves". Fingerless gloves with one large opening rather than individual openings for each finger are sometimes called gauntlet
Gauntlet (gloves)
Gauntlet is a name for several different styles of glove, particularly those with an extended cuff covering part of the forearm. Gauntlets exist in many forms, ranging from flexible fabric and leather gloves, to mail and fully articulated plate armour....
s. Gloves which cover the entire hand or fist
Fist
Fist may refer to:* In falconry, the hand covered by a heavy glove as in boxing, on which the hawk perches* Fisting, the act of the inserting fingers or the whole hand in a vagina or rectum for sexual pleasure...
but do not have separate finger openings or sheaths are called mittens. Mittens are warmer than gloves made of the same material because fingers maintain their warmth better when they are in contact with each other. Reduced surface area reduces heat
Heat
In physics and thermodynamics, heat is energy transferred from one body, region, or thermodynamic system to another due to thermal contact or thermal radiation when the systems are at different temperatures. It is often described as one of the fundamental processes of energy transfer between...
loss.
A hybrid of glove and mitten also exists, which contains open-ended sheaths for the four fingers (as in a fingerless glove, but not the thumb) and also an additional compartment encapsulating the four fingers as a mitten would. This compartment can be lifted off the fingers and folded back to allow the individual fingers ease of movement and access while the hand remains covered. The usual design is for the mitten cavity to be stitched onto the back of the fingerless glove only, allowing it to be flipped over (normally held back by Velcro
Velcro
Velcro is the brand name of the first commercially marketed fabric hook-and-loop fastener, invented in 1948 by the Swiss electrical engineer George de Mestral...
or a button) to transform the garment from a mitten to a glove. These hybrids are called convertible mittens or glittens, a combination of "glove" and "mittens".
Gloves protect and comfort hands against cold or heat, damage by friction, abrasion or chemicals, and disease; or in turn to provide a guard for what a bare hand should not touch. Latex
Latex
Latex is the stable dispersion of polymer microparticles in an aqueous medium. Latexes may be natural or synthetic.Latex as found in nature is a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants . It is a complex emulsion consisting of proteins, alkaloids, starches, sugars, oils, tannins, resins,...
, nitrile rubber
Nitrile rubber
Nitrile rubber, also known as Buna-N, Perbunan, or NBR, is a synthetic rubber copolymer of acrylonitrile and butadiene. Trade names include Nipol, Krynac and Europrene....
or vinyl
Vinyl
A vinyl compound is any organic compound that contains a vinyl group ,which are derivatives of ethene, CH2=CH2, with one hydrogen atom replaced with some other group...
disposable gloves are often worn by health care professionals
Health profession
The health care industry, or medical industry, is the sector of the economic system that provides goods and services to treat patients with curative, preventive, rehabilitative, palliative, or, at times, unnecessary care...
as hygiene and contamination protection measures. Police officers often wear them to work in crime scenes to prevent destroying evidence
Evidence
Evidence in its broadest sense includes everything that is used to determine or demonstrate the truth of an assertion. Giving or procuring evidence is the process of using those things that are either presumed to be true, or were themselves proven via evidence, to demonstrate an assertion's truth...
in the scene. Many criminals wear gloves to avoid leaving fingerprint
Fingerprint
A fingerprint in its narrow sense is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. In a wider use of the term, fingerprints are the traces of an impression from the friction ridges of any part of a human hand. A print from the foot can also leave an impression of friction ridges...
s, which makes the crime investigation more difficult. However, not all gloves prevent fingerprints from being left on the crime scene, depending on the material from which the glove is made.
Fingerless gloves are useful where dexterity is required that gloves would restrict. Cigarette
Cigarette
A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well...
smoker
Tobacco smoking
Tobacco smoking is the practice where tobacco is burned and the resulting smoke is inhaled. The practice may have begun as early as 5000–3000 BCE. Tobacco was introduced to Eurasia in the late 16th century where it followed common trade routes...
s and church
Christian Church
The Christian Church is the assembly or association of followers of Jesus Christ. The Greek term ἐκκλησία that in its appearances in the New Testament is usually translated as "church" basically means "assembly"...
organist
Organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists...
s use fingerless gloves. Some gloves include a gauntlet
Gauntlet (gloves)
Gauntlet is a name for several different styles of glove, particularly those with an extended cuff covering part of the forearm. Gauntlets exist in many forms, ranging from flexible fabric and leather gloves, to mail and fully articulated plate armour....
that extends partway up the arm. Cycling gloves
Cycling gloves
Cycling gloves are gloves designed for cycling. They fulfill three functions: warmth, comfort and protection.- Warmth :Gloves are frequently used to keep the hands warm, a function that is particularly necessary when cycling in cold weather...
for road racing or touring are usually fingerless, as are sailing gloves.
Gloves are made of materials including cloth, knitted or felt
Felt
Felt is a non-woven cloth that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing woollen fibres. While some types of felt are very soft, some are tough enough to form construction materials. Felt can be of any colour, and made into any shape or size....
ed wool, leather, rubber, latex
Latex
Latex is the stable dispersion of polymer microparticles in an aqueous medium. Latexes may be natural or synthetic.Latex as found in nature is a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants . It is a complex emulsion consisting of proteins, alkaloids, starches, sugars, oils, tannins, resins,...
, neoprene
Neoprene
Neoprene or polychloroprene is a family of synthetic rubbers that are produced by polymerization of chloroprene. Neoprene in general has good chemical stability, and maintains flexibility over a wide temperature range...
, and metal (as in mail
Mail (armour)
Mail is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh.-History:Mail was a highly successful type of armour and was used by nearly every metalworking culture....
). Gloves of kevlar
Kevlar
Kevlar is the registered trademark for a para-aramid synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed at DuPont in 1965, this high strength material was first commercially used in the early 1970s as a replacement for steel in racing tires...
protect the wearer from cuts. Gloves and gauntlets are integral components of pressure suit
Pressure suit
A pressure suit is a protective suit worn by high-altitude pilots who may fly at altitudes where the air pressure is too low for an unprotected person to survive, even breathing pure oxygen at positive pressure. Such suits may be either full-pressure or partial-pressure...
s and spacesuits such as the Apollo/Skylab A7L
Apollo/Skylab A7L
The A7L Apollo & Skylab spacesuit is the primary pressure suit worn by NASA astronauts for Project Apollo, the three manned Skylab flights, and the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project between 1968 and the termination of the Apollo program in 1975. The "A7L" designation is used by NASA as the seventh Apollo...
which went to the moon. Spacesuit gloves combine toughness and environmental protection with a degree of sensitivity and flexibility.
Expensive women's fashion gloves are made in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and other countries. For cheaper male gloves New York State, especially Gloversville, New York
Gloversville, New York
Gloversville is a city in Fulton County, New York, that was once the hub of America's glovemaking industry with over two hundred manufacturers in Gloversville and Johnstown. In 2000, Gloversville had a population of 15,413. Ten years later, the population had increased to 15,665- History :The...
is a center of glove manufacturing. More and more glove manufacturing is being done in East Asia, however.
History
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
's The Odyssey, Laërtes
Laertes
In Greek mythology, Laërtes was the son of Arcesius and Chalcomedusa. He was the father of Odysseus and Ctimene by his wife Anticlea, daughter of the thief Autolycus. Laërtes was an Argonaut and participated in the hunt for the Calydonian Boar...
is described as wearing gloves while walking in his garden
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
so as to avoid the bramble
Bramble
Brambles are thorny plants of the genus Rubus, in the rose family . Bramble fruit is the fruit of any such plant, including the blackberry and raspberry. The word comes from Germanic *bram-bezi, whence also German Brombeere , Dutch Braam and French framboise...
s. (Other translations, however, insist that Laertes pulled his long sleeves over his hands.) Herodotus
Herodotus
Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
, in The History of Herodotus (440 BC), tells how Leotychides was incriminated by a glove (gauntlet
Gauntlet (gloves)
Gauntlet is a name for several different styles of glove, particularly those with an extended cuff covering part of the forearm. Gauntlets exist in many forms, ranging from flexible fabric and leather gloves, to mail and fully articulated plate armour....
) full of silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
that he received as a bribe. Among the Romans also there are occasional references to the use of gloves. According to Pliny the Younger
Pliny the Younger
Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo , better known as Pliny the Younger, was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and educate him...
(ca. 100), his uncle's shorthand writer wore gloves during the winter so as not to impede the elder Pliny's
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
work.
During the 13th century, gloves began to be worn by ladies
Lady
The word lady is a polite term for a woman, specifically the female equivalent to, or spouse of, a lord or gentleman, and in many contexts a term for any adult woman...
as a fashion ornament
Fashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
. They were made of linen and silk, and sometimes reached to the elbow. Such worldly accoutrements were not for holy women, according to the early thirteenth-century Ancrene Wisse
Ancrene Wisse
Ancrene Wisse or Guide for Anchoresses is an anonymous monastic rule for anchoresses, written in the early 13th century. Ancrene Wisse was originally composed for three sisters who chose to enter the contemplative life...
, written for their guidance. Sumptuary law
Sumptuary law
Sumptuary laws are laws that attempt to regulate habits of consumption. Black's Law Dictionary defines them as "Laws made for the purpose of restraining luxury or extravagance, particularly against inordinate expenditures in the matter of apparel, food, furniture, etc." Traditionally, they were...
s were promulgated to restrain this vanity: against samite
Samite
Samite may refer to :* Samite, a heavy silk fabric, of a twill-type weave, worn in the Middle Ages* Samite Mulondo, Ugandan-American musician* SS Samite, a Liberty ship...
gloves in Bologna, 1294, against perfumed gloves in Rome, 1560.
A Paris corporation or guild
Guild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
of glovers (gantiers) existed from the thirteenth century. They made them in skin or in fur.
It was not until the 16th century that they reached their greatest elaboration, however, when Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
set the fashion for wearing them richly embroidered and jewelled, and for putting them on and taking them off during audiences, to draw attention to her beautiful hands. In Paris, the gantiers became gantiers parfumeurs, for the scented oils, musk
Musk
Musk is a class of aromatic substances commonly used as base notes in perfumery. They include glandular secretions from animals such as the musk deer, numerous plants emitting similar fragrances, and artificial substances with similar odors. Musk was a name originally given to a substance with a...
, ambergris
Ambergris
Ambergris is a solid, waxy, flammable substance of a dull gray or blackish color produced in the digestive system of and regurgitated or secreted by sperm whales....
and civet
Civet
The family Viverridae is made up of around 30 species of medium-sized mammal, including all of the genets, the binturong, most of the civets, and the two African linsangs....
, that perfumed leather gloves, but their trade, which was an introduction at the court of Catherine de Medici, was not specifically recognised until 1656, in a royal brevet. Makers of knitted gloves, which did not retain perfume and had less social cachet, were organised in a separate guild, of bonnetiers who might knit silk as well as wool
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
. Such workers were already organised in the fourteenth century. Knitted gloves were a refined handiwork that required five years of apprenticeship; defective work was subject to confiscation and burning. In the 17th century, gloves made of soft chicken skin became fashionable. The craze for gloves called "limericks" also took hold. This particular glove-fad was the product of a manufacturer in Limerick, Ireland who fashioned the gloves from the skin of unborn calves.
Embroidered and jewelled gloves also formed part of the insignia of emperors and kings. Thus Matthew of Paris, in recording the burial of Henry II of England
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
in 1189, mentions that he was buried in his coronation robes with a golden crown on his head and gloves on his hands. Gloves were also found on the hands of King John
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
when his tomb was opened in 1797 and on those of King Edward I
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
when his tomb was opened in 1774.
Pontifical gloves are liturgical
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
ornaments used primarily by the pope, the cardinals, and bishops. They may be worn only at the celebration of mass. The liturgical use of gloves has not been traced beyond the beginning of the 10th century, and their introduction may have been due to a simple desire to keep the hands clean for the holy mysteries, but others suggest that they were adopted as part of the increasing pomp with which the Carolingian bishops were surrounding themselves. From the Frankish kingdom the custom spread to Rome, where liturgical gloves are first heard of in the earlier half of the 11th century.
Early Formula One racing cars used steering wheels taken directly from road cars. They were normally made from wood necessitating the use of driving gloves.
Latex gloves, ubiquitous in surgery and forensics, were developed by the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n company Ansell
Ansell Limited
Ansell Limited is an international manufacturer of protective and medical gloves and condoms. Ansell was founded in Australia in 1929 by by Eric Norman Ansell who was at the time a worker for Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Company of Australasia. Originally Ansell was known as E. N. Ansell & Sons but...
.
New Scategories def. for "Mittens" - Something a cat wears on their paws. Sometimes confused with kittens.
Types of glove
Commercial and industrial
- Barbed wireBarbed wireBarbed wire, also known as barb wire , is a type of fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strand. It is used to construct inexpensive fences and is used atop walls surrounding secured property...
handler's gloves - ChainsawChainsawA chainsaw is a portable mechanical saw, powered by electricity, compressed air, hydraulic power, or most commonly a two-stroke engine...
gloves - Fireman's gauntlets
- Disposable glovesRubber gloveA rubber glove is a glove made out of rubber. Rubber gloves can be unsupported or supported . Its primary purpose is protection of the hands while performing tasks involving chemicals. Rubber gloves are worn during dishwashing to protect the hands from detergent and allow the use of hotter water...
- Medical glovesMedical glovesMedical gloves are disposable gloves used during medical examinations and procedures that help prevent contamination between caregivers and patients. Medical gloves are made of different polymers including latex, nitrile rubber, vinyl and neoprene; they come unpowdered, or powdered with cornstarch...
- WelderWelderA welder is a tradesman who specializes in welding materials together. The materials to be joined can be metals or varieties of plastic or polymer...
's gloves - AircrewAircrewAircrew are the personnel who operate an aircraft while in flight. The composition of the crew depends on the type of aircraft as well as the purpose of the flight.-Civilian:*Aviator** Pilot-in-command** First officer** Second officer** Third officer...
gloves: fire resistant - Sandblasting gloves
- GardeningGardeningGardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants. Ornamental plants are normally grown for their flowers, foliage, or overall appearance; useful plants are grown for consumption , for their dyes, or for medicinal or cosmetic use...
gloves - Impact protection gloves
- Rubber gloves
- ChainmailChainmailMail is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh.-History:Mail was a highly successful type of armour and was used by nearly every metalworking culture....
gloves are used by butchers, scuba divers, woodcutters and police - Food service gloves
- Cut-resistant glovesCut-resistant glovesCut resistant gloves are gloves designed to protect the wearer's hands from cuts while working with sharp tools. They can be divided into metal mesh gloves, cut and sewn and seamless knitted gloves....
- Military gloves
Sport and recreational
- American footballAmerican footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
various position gloves - ArcherArcheryArchery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...
's glove - Baseball gloveBaseball gloveA baseball glove or mitt is a large leather glove that baseball players on the defending team are allowed to wear to assist them in catching and fielding balls hit by a batter, or thrown by a teammate.-History:...
or catcher's mitt: in baseballBaseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, the players in the field wear gloves to help them catch the ball and prevent injury to their hands. - BilliardsBilliardsCue sports , also known as billiard sports, are a wide variety of games of skill generally played with a cue stick which is used to strike billiard balls, moving them around a cloth-covered billiards table bounded by rubber .Historically, the umbrella term was billiards...
glove - Boxing glovesBoxing glovesBoxing gloves are cushioned gloves that fighters wear on their hands during boxing matches. The term also refers to gloves used in training, though these often differ from competition gloves...
: a specialized padded mitten - CricketCricketCricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
gloves- The wicket keeper wears large webbed gloves.
- The batsmen wear gloves with heavy padding on the back, to protect the fingers in case of being struck with the ball.
- Cycling glovesCycling glovesCycling gloves are gloves designed for cycling. They fulfill three functions: warmth, comfort and protection.- Warmth :Gloves are frequently used to keep the hands warm, a function that is particularly necessary when cycling in cold weather...
- Driving gloves intended to improve the grip on the steering wheelSteering wheelA steering wheel is a type of steering control in vehicles and vessels ....
. Driving gloves have external seams, open knuckles, open backs, ventilation holes, short cuffs, and wrist snaps. The most luxurious are made from PeccaryPeccaryA peccary is a medium-sized mammal of the family Tayassuidae, or New World Pigs. Peccaries are members of the artiodactyl suborder Suina, as are the pig family and possibly the hippopotamus family...
gloving leather. - FootballFootball (soccer)Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
- Goalkeeper glove - fencing glove
- FalconryFalconryFalconry is "the taking of wild quarry in its natural state and habitat by means of a trained raptor". There are two traditional terms used to describe a person involved in falconry: a falconer flies a falcon; an austringer flies a hawk or an eagle...
glove - GardeningGardeningGardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants. Ornamental plants are normally grown for their flowers, foliage, or overall appearance; useful plants are grown for consumption , for their dyes, or for medicinal or cosmetic use...
glove - Golf glove
- Ice hockeyGlove (hockey)There are three styles of gloves worn by ice hockey players. Skaters wear similar gloves on each hand, while goaltenders wear gloves of different types on each hand.-Skaters' gloves:...
mitt - Riding gloves
- Lacrosse gloveLacrosse gloveLacrosse gloves are heavily-padded, protective gloves worn by men's lacrosse players. The gloves are designed to protect players' hands, wrists, and forearms from checks, or legal defensive hitting common in the sport. Gloves consist of thick padding on the back of the hand and forearm covered in...
s - KendoKendo, meaning "Way of The Sword", is a modern Japanese martial art of sword-fighting based on traditional Japanese swordsmanship, or kenjutsu.Kendo is a physically and mentally challenging activity that combines strong martial arts values with sport-like physical elements.-Practitioners:Practitioners...
Kote - Motorcycling gloves
- Paintball Glove
- Racing drivers gloves with long cuffs, are intended for protection against heat and flame for drivers in automobile competitions.
- Scuba divingScuba divingScuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater....
gloves :- cotton gloves; good abrasion but no thermal protection
- wet gloves; made of neoprene and allowing water entry
- dry gloves; made of rubber with a latex wrist seal to prevent water entry
- Touchscreen gloves - made with conductive material to enable the wearer's natural electric capacitance to interact with capacitive touchscreen devices without the need to remove one's gloves
- finger tip conductivity; where conductive yarns or a conductive patch is found only on the tips of of the fingers (typically the index finger and thumb) thus allowing for basic touch response
- full hand conductivity; where the entire gloves is made from conductive materials allowing for robust tactile touch and dexterity good for accurate typing and multi-touch response
- Underwater HockeyUnderwater hockeyUnderwater hockey is a global non-contact sport in which two teams compete to maneuver a puck across the bottom of a swimming pool into goals.-Play:...
gloves - with protective padding, usually of silicone rubber or latex, across the back of the fingers and knuckles to protect from impact with the puckPuck (sports)A puck is a disk used in various games serving the same functions as a ball does in ball games. The best-known use of pucks is in ice hockey, a major international sport.- Etymology :The origin of the word "puck" is obscure...
; usually only one, either left- or right-hand, is worn depending on which is the playing hand. - SkiSkiA ski is a long, flat device worn on the foot, usually attached through a boot, designed to help the wearer slide smoothly over snow. Originally intended as an aid to travel in snowy regions, they are now mainly used for recreational and sporting purposes...
are padded and reinforced to protect from the cold but also from injury by Skis. - Webbed gloves - A swim training device or swimming aid.
- Weightlifting gloves
- Wired gloveWired gloveA wired glove is an input device for human–computer interaction worn like a glove.Various sensor technologies are used to capture physical data such as bending of fingers. Often a motion tracker, such as a magnetic tracking device or inertial tracking device, is attached to capture the global...
- Power GlovePower GloveThe Power Glove is a controller accessory for the Nintendo Entertainment System, and the first peripheral interface controller to recreate human hand movements on a television or computer screen in real time. The Power Glove was not popular and was criticized for its imprecise and difficult-to-use...
- an alternate controller for use with the Nintendo Entertainment SystemNintendo Entertainment SystemThe Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
- Power Glove
- LED glove
- Oven gloves - or Oven mitts, are used when cooking
- Washing mittWashing mittA washing mitt is a piece of terry cloth, shaped like a pouch that the hand fits in. It is being used as an aid in washing the body, for example, to apply soap to the body, and to remove the soap with a rinsed out washing mitt. It can also be used to freshen up the face...
or Washing glove: a tool for washingWashingWashing is one way of cleaning, namely with water and often some kind of soap or detergent. Washing is an essential part of good hygiene and health....
the body (one's own, or of a childChildBiologically, a child is generally a human between the stages of birth and puberty. Some vernacular definitions of a child include the fetus, as being an unborn child. The legal definition of "child" generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority...
, a patientPatientA patient is any recipient of healthcare services. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, advanced practice registered nurse, veterinarian, or other health care provider....
, a lover). - Wheelchair gloves - for users of manual WheelchairWheelchairA wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...
s
Fashion
Western lady's gloves for formal and semi-formal wear come in three lengths: wrist ("matinee"), elbow, and opera or full-length (over the elbow, reaching to the biceps). Satin and stretch satin are popular and mass-produced. Some women wear gloves as part of "dressy" outfits, such as for church and weddings. Long white gloves are common accessories for teenage girls attending formal events such as promProm
In the United States and Canada, a prom, short for promenade, is a formal dance, or gathering of high school students. It is typically held near the end of the senior year. It figures greatly in popular culture and is a major event among high school students...
, cotillion
Cotillion
In American usage, a cotillion is a formal ball and social gathering, often the venue for presenting débutantes during the débutante season – usually May through December. Cotillions are also used as classes to teach social etiquette, respect and common morals for the younger ages with the...
, or formal ceremonies at church such as confirmation.
Fingerless gloves
Fingerless gloves or "glovelettes" are garments worn on the hands which resemble regular gloves in most ways, except that the finger columns are half-length and opened, allowing the top-half of the wearer's fingers to be shown.Fingerless gloves are often padded in the palm area, to provide protection to the hand, and the exposed fingers do not interfere with sensation or gripping. In contrast to traditional gloves, often worn for warmth, fingerless gloves will often have a ventilated back to allow the hands to cool; this is commonly seen in weightlifting gloves.
Fingerless gloves are also worn by biker
Motorcycling
Motorcycling is the act of riding a motorcycle. A variety of subcultures and lifestyles have been built up around motorcycling.-Benefits:Robert M. Pirsig's book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was a paean celebrating motorcycling...
s as a means to better grip the handlebars, as well as by skateboard
Skateboard
A skateboard is typically a specially designed plywood board combined with a polyurethane coating used for making smoother slides and stronger durability, used primarily for the activity of skateboarding. The first skateboards to reach public notice came out of the surfing craze of the early 1960s,...
ers and rollerblade
Rollerblade
Rollerblade is a brand of inline skates owned by Nordica, part of the Tecnica Group of Trevignano, Treviso, Italy.The company was started by Scott Olsen and Brennan Olson in Minneapolis as Ole's Innovative Sports; when they sold the company, it became Rollerblade, Inc...
rs, to protect the palms of the hands and add grip in the event of a fall. Some angler
Fisherman
A fisherman or fisher is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishermen and fish farmers. The term can also be applied to recreational fishermen and may be used to describe both men...
s, particularly fly fishermen, favour fingerless gloves to allow manipulation of line and tackle in cooler conditions.
A woolen variety became popular in the early 1980s, largely due to the example of English pop star Nik Kershaw
Nik Kershaw
Nik Kershaw is an English singer-songwriter. The one time jazz-funk guitarist was a mid-1980s teen idol. His 50 weeks on the UK Singles Chart in 1984 beat all other soloists...
.
Mittens
Gloves which cover the entire hand but do not have separate finger openings or sheaths are called mittens. Generally, mittens still separate the thumb from the other four fingers. They have different colours and designs. Mittens have a higher thermal efficiency than gloves as they have a small surface area exposed to the cold.The earliest mittens known to archeologists date to around 1000AD in Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
. Mittens continue to be part of Latvian national costume
National costume
Folk costume expresses an identity through costume which usually to a geographic area or a period of time in history, but can also indicate social, marital and/or religious status...
today. Wool biodegrades quickly, so it is likely that earlier mittens, possibly in other countries, may have existed but were not preserved. An exception is the specimen found during the excavations of the Early Medieval trading town of Dorestad in the Netherlands. In the harbour area a mitten of wool was discovered dating from the 8th or early 9th century.
Many people around the Arctic Circle have used mittens, including other Baltic peoples
Balts
The Balts or Baltic peoples , defined as speakers of one of the Baltic languages, a branch of the Indo-European language family, are descended from a group of Indo-European tribes who settled the area between the Jutland peninsula in the west and Moscow, Oka and Volga rivers basins in the east...
, Native Americans
Aboriginal peoples in Canada
Aboriginal peoples in Canada comprise the First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The descriptors "Indian" and "Eskimo" have fallen into disuse in Canada and are commonly considered pejorative....
and Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
s. Mittens are a common sight on Ski slopes, as they not only provide extra warmth but extra protection from injury.
Idiot mittens describes two mittens connected by a length of yarn, string or lace, threaded through the sleeves of a coat. This arrangement is typically provided for small children to prevent the mittens becoming discarded and lost; when removed, the mittens simply dangle from the cuffs.
Scratch mitts refers to mittens which do not separate the thumb, and are designed to prevent babies who do not yet have fine motor control
Motor control
Motor control are information processing related activities carried out by the central nervous system that organize the musculoskeletal system to create coordinated movements and skilled actions...
from scratching their faces.
Gunner's Mittens In the 1930s special fingerless mittens were introduced where a flap was located in the palm of the mitten so a hunter or soldier could have his finger free to fire his weapon. Developed for hunters first in the frigid zones of the US and Canada, eventually most military organizations copied them.
Standards
There are a number of different European standards that relate to gloves. These include:- BS EN388- Mechanical hazards including Abrasion, cut, tear and puncture.
- BS EN388:2003 - Protective Against Mechanical Rist (Abrasion/Blade Cut Resistance/Tear Resistance/Abrasion Resistance)
- BS EN374-1:2003 Protective Against Chemical And Micro-Organisms
- BS EN374-2- Micro-organisms
- BS EN374-3- Chemicals
- BS EN420- General requirements for gloves includes sizing and a number of health and safety aspects including latex protein and chromium levels.
- BS EN60903- Electric shock
- BS EN407- Heat resistance
- BS EN511- Cold resistance
- BS EN1149- Antistatic
These exist to fulfill the PPE requirements.
PPE places gloves into three categories:
- Minimal risk - End user can easily identify risk. Risk is low.
- Complex design- Used situations that can cause serious injury or death.
- Intermediate - Gloves that don't fit into minimal risk or complex design categories.
