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Webster 1913 Edition

Linen

Lin′en

(lĭn′ĕn)
,
Adj.
[OE., fr.
lin
linen. See
Linen
,
Noun.
]
1.
Made of linen;
as,
linen
cloth; a
linen
stocking.
2.
Resembling linen cloth; white; pale.

Lin′en

,
Noun.
[Prop. an adj. from OE.
lin
flax, AS.
līn
flax, whence
līnen
made of flax; akin to OS., Icel., & MHG.
līn
flax and linen, G.
lein
,
leinen
, linen, Sw.
lin
flax, Goth.
lein
linen, L.
linum
flax, linen, Gr.
λίνον
. Cf.
Line
,
Linseed
.]
1.
Thread or cloth made of flax or (rarely) of hemp; – used in a general sense to include cambric, shirting, sheeting, towels, tablecloths, etc.;
as, bed
linens
“In linen white as milk.”
Robert of Brunne.
2.
Underclothing, esp. the shirt, as being, in former times, chiefly made of linen.
Linen draper
,
a dealer in linen.
–
Linen prover
,
a small microscope for counting the threads in a given space in linen fabrics.
–
Linen scroll
,
Linen pattern
(Arch.)
,
an ornament for filling panels, copied from the folds of a piece of stuff symmetrically disposed.

Webster 1828 Edition

Linen

LIN'EN

,
Noun.
[L. linun, flax, Gr. The sense is probably long, extended or smooth. In the latter sense, it would accord with L. linio, lenio.]
1.
Cloth made of flax or hemp.
2.
An under garment.

LIN'EN

,
Adj.
[L. lineus.]
1.
Made of flax or hemp; as linen cloth; a linen stocking.
2.
Resembling linen cloth; white; pale.
Fossil-linen, a kind of amianth, with soft, parallel, flexible fibers.

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