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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.

Definition 2024


linen

linen

English

Noun

linen (countable and uncountable, plural linens)

  1. (uncountable) Thread or cloth made from flax fiber.
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 5, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      Here, in the transept and choir, where the service was being held, one was conscious every moment of an increasing brightness; colours glowing vividly beneath the circular chandeliers, and the rows of small lights on the choristers' desks flashed and sparkled in front of the boys' faces, deep linen collars, and red neckbands.
  2. (countable) Domestic textiles, such as tablecloths, bedding, towels, under clothes, etc., that are made of linen or linen-like fabrics of cotton or other fibers; linens.
    She put the freshly cleaned linens into the linen closet.
    • 1879, Richard Jefferies, The Amateur Poacher, chapter1:
      But then I had the [massive] flintlock by me for protection. ¶ [] The linen-press and a chest on the top of it formed, however, a very good gun-carriage; and, thus mounted, aim could be taken out of the window at the old mare feeding in the meadow below by the brook, [].
  3. A light beige colour, like that of linen cloth undyed.
    linen colour:    

Translations

Derived terms

Adjective

linen (not comparable)

  1. Made from linen cloth or thread.
  2. Having the colour linen, light beige.

See also

Anagrams


Cornish

Noun

linen f (plural linennow or linednow)

  1. singulative of lin
  2. thread

Synonyms