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Textiles, Embroideries, And: Latin

The name of Cotton is a modification of the Arabic qoton; Silk is derived from the Latin sericus, soft; and Satin from the Italian seta, a species of silk distinguished for its gloss and close Textiles, Embroideries, and Lace. texture. Variegated silk or other stuff bears the name of Brocade in accordance with the Italian verb broccare, to prick, to stitch, to figure; Damassin is a damask cloth interwoven with flowers, or silver, or gold; Sarsanet is a fine silk, originally made by the Saracens; Mohair is properly Moorhair, or the hair of the Angola goat introduced into Spain by the Moors; whereas Moire Antique is the French description of a watered silk worked up in the manner of that worn in the olden time.

Chintz is a Persian word signifying spotted or stained; Taffety, or Taffeta, is a modification of the Persian tâftah, derived from taftan, to spin; Linen is an Anglo-Saxon rendering of the Latin linum, flax; and Lawn is simply fine linen bleached upon a lawn instead of the customary drying-ground.

Pompadour received its name from Madame le Pompadour, the mistress of Louis XV. of France (born 1721, died 1764), who was the first to introduce it.

Swansdown is, of course, made from the down of swans; Moleskin is not the skin of the mole, but a strong cotton fabric or fustain having a smooth surface like the mole-skin; Merino is manufactured from the wool of the Merino sheep; and Alpaca from that of the alpaca, a species of llama found in Peru. Kersey is a corruption of Jersey, indicative of the place where this favourite woollen material was first produced. The dyed cotton stuff known as Gingham, out of which umbrellas were formerly made-hence the slang term for those articles-is I2 so called after the native Javanese name pronounced ginggang. We may also conveniently add here that Blankets received their designation from Thomas Blanket, who first made them at Bristol as long ago as the year 1340.

The name of Velvet traces its origin from the Latin villus, shaggy hair; and Plush from pilus, a hair. Velveteen is a cotton velvet or a cloth in imitation of velvet. Fustian, derived from the Spanish fustan, is a generic term for the twilled cotton stuffs of which velvet, corduroy, &c., are the chief. Grogram is a corruption of the French gros-grain, meaning coarse-grained; whereas Corduroy is properly Cord du roy, King's Cord, so called because, owing to its ribbed or corded surface, it was at one time considered superior to any other kind of cloth intended for masculine wear. Pinacloth, a material much used for ladies' dresses, is manufactured from the fibres of the pine-apple leaf; just as Grass-cloth is extensively worked up into light jackets for Indian wear from the Grass Cloth plant which abounds in China, Assam, and Sumatra. T-cloth comprises a special kind of cloth expressly manufactured in this country for exportation to India, and distinguished by a T marked upon it; while Broadcloth simply bears its name on account of its unusual width. The name of Twill is a modification of the German Zwillich, signifying trellis-work, and founded upon twillen, to separate in two, since this cloth presents the appearance of diagonal lines or ribs upon its Textiles, Embroideries, and Lace. surface. Tweed is a cloth made in the neighbourhood of the river Tweed; but it did not always bear this name. The cloth is really twill, and the altered designation arose out of the word being blotted in an invoice sent to James Locke, of London, who, conceiving it to look like "Tweed," suggested that it might as well stand for the name of the cloth as any other. Plaid owes its name to the Gaelic peallaid, a sheepskin out of which the overgarments of the Highlanders were originally made. Check is but another name for Plaid, meaning checkered, i.e., marked with variegated or crossed lines; as, for example, a draught-board, of which the counters are, on account of their cross movements, called CHECKERS or CHEQUERS.