A mitten is a type of glove that covers the whole hand but has a separate section only for the thumb. This design keeps fingers together, helping hands stay warmer in cold weather.
From Old French “mitaine,” originally meaning a half-glove or a glove without fingers. It may be related to a word for a type of hawking glove or to the name of a cat with white paws.
Mittens seem childlike, but the idea is actually clever: fingers share heat better when they’re not separated. The word’s history even brushes up against falconry and cats, which is fitting for something that ‘paws’ at the cold.
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