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textiles, (cloth) are one of the oldest comodities traded. right up there with olive and other oils...
name for textiles, are often very old words..
Anu in the past has covered seersucker.. (but it was mentioned recently by me, so search for it!) is one with an interesting etymology. but there are others
Satin (just for you inselpeter!) from the spanish, setuni, which came from the arabic, zaituni, meaning of Zaitun, the medieval name of Quanzhou, China!
Satin was original a silk fabic, but now is often made from synthetics. sateen, is a fabic similar to satin, made from cotton
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Chintz-- from the hindu, chhint, (related to the sanscrit, chitra;spot, and to the IE base of *(s)kai-, bright.
this root is also found in OE hador, bright, and in the latin caelum, sky.
Chintz is a cotton cloth printed in bright colors with flowers or other designs, and is usually glazed.
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gingham come to english from the dutch (or maybe the french!) Du gingang, Fr guingan-- but is ultimately from the Malay, ginggang, striped!
it is a yarn dyed cloth, usually woven in stripes or checks, or plaids.
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serge moved into ME, from OFr, sarica, starting in latin as serica, silken garments, <sericus, silken, or literaly, of the Seres, an oriental people, and most likely from the original chinese word for silk se>
a stong twilled fabric with a noticiable diagonal rib, used for suits and coats..
silk is incredible strong, and was highly desired as an undergarment-- no, not that reason! usually, an arrow could not peirce it. so, while the arrow might go through the skin, it pulled the un peirced shirt with it..
this made it much easer to remove the arrow, (the shirt was twisted round the arrow shaft, and the cloth was pulled out.
this reduced internal damage, and once washed, the shirt was still good! it was more expensive than mail, and other metal armor, but it was very light weight, and cooler, and less restricting...
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Chintz-- from the hindu, chhint
Any connection with chintzy, as slang for cheap and shoddy?
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Keiva: using extortion as you did is cheap and shoddy.
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Chintz...and is usually glazed.
Fabric are now days treated with synthetic glazes. in times past, starch was the most common glaze. (any one familiar with starch fabric know, when over starch, the fabric can have a hard glossy finish.)
some starches, like oat starch will disolve in water, once and then resist disolving again.
cheap, lightweight fabic, was often glazed, like chintz, to make it feel more substainial, firmer. as the glaze washed/wore off, the substandard quality of the cloth was evident...
leading to chintzy, meaning of poor quality, and from there to cheap and shoddy
it just an other case of first impressions being wrong..
i though Keiva was an ok guy, but now, i realize he is chintzy.. sub standard, cheap and shoddy.
he used extortion to get back on the board after he was banned.
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returning to of-troy's subject
Nylon stockings are near and dear to any woman who had to live with the snags of silk. Silk stockings were used before, but they snagged very easily and made users very frustrated.
Because of the public-relations fanfare surrounding the debut of nylon stocking, there is no ambiguity concerning their origin. In late 1938 the Du Pont chemical company announced its new synthetic, nylon, "passing in strength and elasticity any previously known textile fibers." The hosiery industry welcomed relief from the periodic shortages of raw silk, but feared the effect of indestructible stockings. While the "miracle yarn" was displayed at the 1939 World's Fair, Women across America eagerly awaited the new nylon stockings.
DuPont shipped spools of the new yarn to selected mills, to be knit per Du Pont's specifications. The mills allotted nylon stocking to certain stores, on the promise that none would be sold before "Nylon Day", May 15, 1940. With Du Pont's advertising, hysteria built.
On May 15 the hysteria erupted. Newspapers reported that no consumer item in history ever caused such nationwide pandemonimum. Women queued up hours before the store doors opened. Hosiery deparments quickly ran out, and in many stores near riots broke out. By the end of the year 3 million dozen pairs had been sold -- and far more could have been sold had more been available.
Compared to silk, nylon stockings appeared virtually indestructible -- particularly since women treated the few pair they managed to buy with greater care. In very little time silk stockings were obsolete and nylon stocking became simply "nylons".
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Keiva: Now matter how you post, you cannot cnange the fact that you
used extortion to obtain re-instatement after being banned for starting
a flamewarand refusing to stop adding fuel to it. You are contemptible.
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Fascinating information about silk and the arrow, of troy.
I wonder at what point would there be enough force on an arrow that it could, finally, pierce silk?
Thanks for the information!
WW
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It not fool proof, the closer the archer, the stronger the bow, the sharper the arrow head, and of course the heavier or lighter weight of the silk garment...
just as "bullet proof" vest worn by the police are not 100% bullet proof, so too, silk was not perfect.. but experments with modern arrow, (steel tipped) shot at manikins, a heavy weight silk serge was intack, more than 50% of the time. it was referenced in Natural History, but the article is not available on line (NH only prints select articles..not the whole zine.)
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being AWAD, anyone can take this off topic, and include words that are copyrighted names of modern synthetic materials.. but such made up words like nylon are less interesting than say cotton
cotton--ME: cotoun, OFr: cotonfrom the italian? cotone but definately from the AR: qutun (? Egyptian?)
since cotton is a tropic plant, it wouldn't grow in most of europe, (and the mediterranian climate, isn' right for it either. it could and did grow in river vallies, (tigres, Nile, etc) where irrigation provided the right level of water at the right time..) it was an exocitic import in europe for ages and ages, and many cotton fabic names reflect this
Damask (heavy cotton, with design woven in)
muslin (a simple plain weave cotton)
even towel a cloth for washing goes back to IE!
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wool is an other old word, and it too, goes back to IE... changing along the way
In ME: it was wolle, <OE: wull, akin the Ger: wolle, <the IE base is *wel-, hair, wool, grass, > which in latin is villus, vellus(which in English brings us Velvet), and lana--related to the greek lenos.
the lana/lenos.. also has come into english, as lanolin, the oil/grease extracted from sheep's wool.
Wool was highly prized for several characteristics.
It took dyes very well. natural wool, like some of the new synthetic fibers in hollow, which means wool can still offer a good deal of insulations, even when wet.
and even slightly damp wool is extremely fire resistant. when one cooked over open fires, having a wool skirt or apron was an important safety factor.
and it does naturaly come in several colors, from almost a pure white, to almost black, with several shade of brown, red, (auburn)and grey.
like all natural fabrics, it is very effective in wicking away persperation, and so often feels cool on the skin.
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Again, Helen, fascinating info on silk! This kind of information blows me away every single time. Makes me want to go rent a bow and arrow, set up a scarecrow out in the field, drape him in silk, and run a little experiment.
Course that would depend upon my ability to hit said scarecrow, and therein lies the rub. I ain't exactly your most coordinated archer on the team!
Bow regards,
WW
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such made up words like nylon are less interesting than say cotton
From a word point of view (this being a word-site), the word nylon is interesting. One site notes two opposing views (each with citations, not here quoted; emphases added):
The word is a generic word coined by the du Pont Co. It is not a registered name or trademark... We wish to emphasize the following additional points: First, that the letters n-y-l-o-n have absolutely no significance, etymological or otherwise...
but a much more interesting alternative, from The Origins and Development of the English Language:
"'Nylon' may not be quite etymologyless. ...
when the material was first developed, it was called 'polyhexamethyleneadipamide'.
Realizing the stuff needed a catchier name than that, the company thought of 'duprooh', an acronym for 'Du Pont pulls rabbit out of hat',
but instead settled on 'no-run' until it was pointed out that stockings made of the material were not really run-proof.
So the spelling of the word was reversed to 'nuron',
which was modified to 'nilon' to make it sound less like a nerve tonic.
Then, to prevent a pronunciation like 'nillon', the company changed 'i' to 'y', producing 'nylon'.
Thus beneath that apparently quite arbitrary word lurks the English expression 'no-run'".
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there was a recent article in the NYTimes (june 16th of this year) about crossing spider genes with goats, in hopes that the goats milk would contain the proteins for the spider silk, with could then be extracted..
modern day nylon is spun out of spinnets, the ideas taken from how spider spin their silk
spider silk is stronger than steel.. so its not really too surprizing silk is strong as it is! spider silk, and real silk are extremely fine fillaments, but they have wonderful tensil strenght. and when spun into thread, and woven into yarn, they are extremely strong! but, they can be cut.. ( ok, if you take a filament of silk, and gently stretch it.. either by pulling on the ends, or by securing the ends, and pressing down on the middle, it is stronger than steel) but if you place a sharp edge against it, it cuts, very clean (almost perfect right angles when views through a microscope)
so an arrow striking the cloth, is like force like the first, hanging or pulling, it testing the tensile strenght, and the silk resist very effectively. but a scissor, is cutting.. modern arrow come with several different heads.. the classic arrow shape (flat blade, with beveled edges ) is sometimes sharp enought to cut the silk, but most often the silk reacts as if the arrow head were a series of steps, and each step is just pushing, putting presure on the threads.. and silk resist this presure very effectively.
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Keiva: You were banned for starting a flame war and refusing to quit.
You use threats to get Wordsmith to re-instate you. You are contemptible.
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Keiva: Now matter how you post, you cannot cnange the fact that you used extortion to obtain re-instatement after being banned for starting a flamewarand refusing to stop adding fuel to it. You are contemptible. See what Anu Garg had to say…. http://wordsmith.org/board/showflat.pl?t=&Board=announcements&Number=72021
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France was famous for its textile mills, and several fabrics still have names based on there french origin
as mentioned about serge is a stong twilled fabric with a noticiable diagonal rib, used for suits and coats..
in De Nîmes,(France) a heavy cotton serge was produced.. useful for sail and tents, it went all over the world.. it is now better known as Denim
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Another word that betrays a IE root..
starting in LME, as tapsterie, and earlier, tapicerie, <MFr: tapisserie <OFr: tapis,, carpet, it prob. came from the Iranian taftan, to twist, to spin.. from the IE *temp-, to stretch..
tapestries are not woven on the same sort of looms as most cloth, but on stretchers..
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usually, an arrow could not pierce itWhacky stuff! Just occurs to me that the surcoats that soldiers used to wear over their armour may have been made of silk. That would actually make quite a bit of sense if the silk slowed down the arrow and protected the soldier should the armour be penetrated. But it is just conjecture. 
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Silk was very expensive, costing more than its weight in gold. i suspect only members of the court could dress in silk. It was an advantage though, because a lord could right out among the troops, looking brave, with out any armor -- when in reality, a heavy, quilted, silk surcoat, might have given him more proctections then the leather jackets of the peasentry, and as much protection as light mail.
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I'll bring the bow and arrow! This I've gotta see.
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Everybody seems facinated that silk is so strong! it was used for parachutes.. (for the same reasons, high tensile strength..) It didn't work well in hose, because it doesn't stand up to abrasion well .... so your heal rubbing against the hose and your shoe, could wear a hole.. and while it does wick away moisture, if keep moist, it rots very fast, so inside of shoes, where you feet tend to sweat, would be hard on silk. i went a googling.. but didn't find what i wanted, i did find this
Silk, the finest of all natural fibers, has three crucial qualities: strength, elasticity and extremely long fibers. A silk thread made of seven filaments has the tensile strength of 65,000 pounds per square inch.. that's pretty impressive! from: http://www.hebrewhistory.org/factpapers/silk15.html
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the Iranian taftan, to twist, to spin.. which is thought to be the root word for tapestry, is also the root behind tafetta..
an other one of the very old weaves for silk!
Weaving is ancient, and many of the words used for textiles are just as old.. while history is good at recording the deeds of men, wars, and inventions, women keep to their looms, and created words for their wares that still are alive today...
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Re Wool. Listening to a program from our Maine PBS station I learned there is a Maine farm which strives to keep alive endangered species of domestic animals : pigs, horses, goats, sheep etc. and in process learned that the wool industry is depressed because people are not buying many wool garments.
Perhaps many folks, like myself, associated wool with the itchies ... but that is no more!
Last winter I bought a light weight wool Merino outfit -- slacks and a top (Nordstrom catalogue if I recall correctly, either that or Bloomingdale's brochure.)
In a washable wool!
It was so good, and comfy, I ordered another set in a different color.
I had been wearing heavy weight fleece "sweats" and was still cold. Swapped for the wool outfit and Voila!
Warm, no itching, comfortable, looks good, feels soft.
And, I could turn the heat down.
And it sure is more flattering than bulky old fleece stuff.
All in all it beat all the synthetics I own by a country mile. More wool for me this coming winter!
Re silk:
heavier weight is warm in winter - I used to wear silk underwear (long Johns type ) for winter sports.
And it's lighter weights are cool in summer. Some silk is diaphanous and floats around you like a rainbow cloud. Wheeeeee.
And now I find if I ever get shot by Cupid's arrow I can just pull the fabric and get rid of the pesky imp.
Good news. Thanks Helen!!
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wool, too, when thin, is cool, not warm.. i have had summer dresses made fromm hankerchef weight summer wool... wool so light weigth, it was so sheer it needed a lining! the lining was light weight cotton.. and everyone was flabergasted that my dress was wool! but wool, like cotton and other natural fabrics is superiour at wicking away moisture so it felt cool. and it was hand wash in cold water and wear -- hung to dry, it didn't need ironing..(the lining was seperate, so it could go in the machine.)
we forget, in days past, with out centeral heating, it was not uncommon for dressy evening dresses to be made from wool.
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Last winter I bought a light weight wool Merino outfit
merinofrom the spanish, after Merin, the name of a Berber tribe, any of a breed of hardy white-faced sheep with long fine wool.
another word from an arabic language that come into english via spanish..
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I have had summer dresses made fromm hankerchef weight summer wool...
I believe it. Once I had to represent the Clan at an August Gathering ... I had only a heavy weight wool kilt ... strangely, although temp was in 80s, I was not overcome ... evidently what keeps out the cold will also keep out the heat.
Aren't the black cloak things worn by Arab Nomads also a heavy wool? And aren't they worn day and night?
Helen?
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huck·a·back (hŭk'ə-bãk')
n.
A coarse absorbent cotton or linen fabric used especially for toweling.
[Origin unknown.]Also called huck.
I had never heard about this before it came up in a game of Scrabble. Sort of gives a new slant on the name Huck Finn, doesn't it?
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Dear Wow: There was a good Hibernian in my mother's home town, Belfast, Maine,
who wore a heavy sweater in July, because "what'll keep out the cold, will keep
out the hayt."
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> Aren't the black cloak things worn by Arab Nomads also a heavy wool? And aren't they worn day and night?They're probably cotton or hemp. Although the theory behind the voluminous cut of the garment is that air can circulate within the folds of the fabric, so it doesn't much matter what it's made of. I don't know about the day & night principle, but it's always puzzled me that black would be the color of choice, being that it absorbs heat... 
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if I ever get shot by Cupid's arrow I can just pull the fabric and get rid of the pesky impFar cheaper, and more commonplace, to just have a heart of stone, Wise One. Have I met you?! 
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Oh, my dear Fishonabike!
No Wise Old Woman would ever want a heart of stone ... it is the listening and loving heart that helps *make us wise.
It's just that at 73 I am sorta "over" that Cupid's Arrow nonsense ... give me a deep, kind hearted, clear thinking man with a keen sense of the absurd over a "stud" any time.
If we had met I am sure we would have our heads together over something interesting while enjoying a home made French Vanilla iced coffee! At least till the sun was over the yardarm - - somewhere.
Anytime you're in the neighborhood!
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thanks dody! Archiologist have found silk fibers in eygptian tombs! silk was very popular!
Cotton too, was an imported fabric, it was grown in eygpt, but it was also first cultivated in China. It was grown in other countries,as well, and it was one the few plants that was domesticated both in old world and new world..
but it never made it to North america till europeans settle here.. the spanish brought it from south america to north america... Cotton doesn't grow in the area near equator, (it need some change of day/night times to set flower, not much but to close to equator, and it loses track) and there were not the same established trade routes from North America to South America as there were from Europe to China.. (read Gun, Germs and Steel, by Jared Diamond for a detailed answer of why that occured)
In North america, there were almost no domestic crops or animals for fibers..
in different places, different plants were used, but nothing as wide spread as sheep (for wool), or flax (linen) or cotton...
Pacific Northwest indians had a dog that was bred for its soft underbelly fur, that was collected and spun.. and there were many types of bark cloth.. but most american indians wore leather.
Hopi indians used the wool from sheep they had captured (they did not have a domesticated one) to make wool blankets.. and once domestic sheep were introduced, they became sheepherders.. but they had been semi nomdic, herders of wild sheep.
both new world and old had very similiar spindles and looms.
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enjoying a home made French Vanilla iced coffee...Anytime you're in the neighborhood! Note the selective citation. You're on. Hmmm, a "clear thinking man with a keen sense of the absurd" - now there's an interesting mix! Though perhaps the two go hand in hand?
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