DO YOU KNOW?

Chronicle (Levin), 27 February 1947, Page 8

DO YOU KNOW?

0 TEXTILE ETYMOLOGY

(Contributed' by 'tfte Sarah Anne Rhodes Fellowsbip in Hotn« Science, wiLji acKnowieageiiient to the Journal oi Practical Honre Economics.) Maay naines commoji to the textile indaistry^lVave MsforiC'al1 baekgroimds. They identify not only the object or xabi'ic but also- the method of weaving, place of origin, or originator. Some are Ldentical or simiiar to words of dead languages, otliers- are borrovied from toreign tongues. Still otRers are the rc'suits of misinterpretatrons or con'up!tions of long forgotten Words and places. For exampte, eounterpane comes from a misprbnuneiation of" the Frenclv words "contra point, " a name applied to t!uproducing of patterns by a -process of 'needlework, while coverlet is really the French ' ' couvre litr' which mea'ns to cover the bed. Blankets were first made in 1840 by Sir Thomas Blanket, hence their name.- Thread/ ifleans three cords threed or thriced, and twine means txvo cords twiced1 or twisted. Thimblvs, once vvo-m on- the thuml), Were originally" caHed thumb bells. x . Rere is a glossary of familiar fabfies and their name derivations.. From Latin and Greek Both these countries imported from, their numerous colonies such fabrics which could not be produced in simple, native workshops. Bombazine, a black silk fabric once used for mourning dresses, is so named from ' ' bom'byx, ' ' the Greek for silk wo nn. Brocade, a woven fabric with. overall interwoven design of i^aised figures or' flowers, often with goid and silver threads rmining th rough" it, is so named from the Latin word ' ' brocarc 7 ' which means to pick or emboss. • Crepe, a lightweight fabric of any natural or svnthetic fibre, obtaining its name from the Latin word', "crispus" meaning curled. Crinoline, a higlily sized stiff fabric, often used as a foundation to support hem edges and sleeves, comes from a combination of two Latin words "crinis, " meaning mane, and "linum," flax. Crinoline, formeriy ; used for expensive skirts, was origin- i allv made from horse hair. Dimity, a double-thread corded or checked cotton fabric, gets its name from the Greek word, "diinitos" which means double thread. Laee, an open-work fabric c'onsisting of a networlc of threads formed into a design, can be traced- to the Latin word, "loqueus, "Which means a knot or noose. jMessaline, a light weight silk-safin fabric, so named from "iMessaline, wife of Roman Emperor-Claudius. Plush- comes from another Latin word, "pilus, " which means hairy. •Serge, a twill-weave fabric with a cliarac.teristie promineht diagonal rib on both sides of tlie eloth, comes from the Latin "sercla, " which means silken. , \'elvet, a fabric having a short soft ' thiclc pile, usually made of silk with a : cotton back, obtaincd its name from the Latin word, "villatus, ' whichmeans shaggy haif." In 1272*, the historian, Joinville, rCferred to this fabric as "vellet. " Velour, a soft closely woven smooth fabi'it1, obtained' its naine I'rom Ihe same soui'Ce. A'oile, a tine sheer dress fabrie of cottoii, silk or wool, either printed or plain, derives its name from a eoiTup- , tion of the Engfish word "veilr" j which originateil, in the Latin word, "vela" meaning a curtain or covering. From the Chinese For over four tlfOusand years silk has been the traditional fabric of China and most of the eommon words used for tho silk products are of Chinese origin. The source of silk fibre was long unknown outside of China alf.hough silk fabrics were earried by caravan to trading posts in Western Asia as early as 100 B.C. The early traders and later sea-faring Portuguese and Dutch all adopted the Chinese name for this fabric, but found it difficnlt to pronounee. To Western ears, it sounded Jilce "sei" and this word' I ultimately became "seresr' in Greek! and ' ' silk ' ' in English. Crepe-de-cjiene, originally a silk { fabrie hav.ing a pebbly surface, is a] word of French-.. origin althougli the | •fabric is often ealled ( anton '.cr.epe. ,:j Sati'u. desc^rbes Wjjl-e-ly. used lustrous.j fa.bricv.rf^a^e-frp-nV -srtk :an(b a5njiinber Off other fi-breir.il 'li'he-' Avbrd'l.origrifated in • Cltin-a- as ;-.'.sz-tmt,2 i was-. tra-nsla.te(l. by J Marco Polo as " zaitun, " appeared in Aralne as "za.ytnni. " When this type of faln'ie was furtlier developed.. by inedieval Italian textile craftsmen, itsname was altered to "saeta,1' which means a thiek liair or bristle. Shauntung, a silk fabric simiiar to poiigee but originally woven from wild silk and therefore possessmg a rougher surface, was so named for tlie Chinese proviuce in which this type of eloth oriivinatfid.

Pongee, a thin undved tan fabric so named from the Chinese word "punclii, ' which meaus'home loom, suggesting family weaving. From the Near East Three of tlie ol'dest and- most important natural textile libres used by man come from th-c Near East. The exquisrte ritual li-nens of Egypt, the ' ' woveri wind" cottons of India and tlie luxurious woollens of Mesopotamia are eharacteristic of an aneient textile eraft. Buclcram, a sized cotton fabric glued logether, used for interlining and stiffening, was first made at Bokliara, which gave this eloth its name. Cottou, one of the oldest textile wo-rdsr has remained practical ly unchanged since it was first applied to this partieular fibre in the- sanskrit

tongue. The Arabs ealled it "quoton" and the Egypt ians rf goton. ' ' Darnask, a fabric which has been woven with an elaborate design p-f floAvers or other ornamentatiOn, the patterns for which are made by different d'ireetions of the thread, obtained its name from Damaseus, the city where it was originally made. Gauze is named1 at'ter the towni of Gaza in Palestine where ifr was first woven. Mohair, a smootli glossy wiiry. fabricmade of hair from the Angora goat,. comes to us frorn the Arabie word ' ' mwkh a-yjrar. ' ' Percale, which is st medium weight, s ful'l fmi-shed cotton fabric having a.' firnD, clo-se plain weave,: is from the Persian word ' ' Parf alah. ' ' Seersucker also comes from the Per-

sian, " shr-u-sukhar, ' ' meaning milk and ~sugar or a striped eloth. Taft'eta comes from the Persian Avord "taftan," meaning a twist or spin. To a Persian it described a fine plalnweave sheer-surfaced fabric. smooth on both sides.