muslin
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of muslin
1600–10; < French mousseline < Italian mussolina, equivalent to Mussol ( o ) Mosul, Iraq (where first made) + -ina -ine 1
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Explanation
Muslin is a kind of cotton fabric that's plain and lightweight. Designers and dressmakers often use muslin to make inexpensive sample garments for fitting. Perfecting designs using muslin is so common that the practice garment itself is often referred to as a muslin: "Here, try on this muslin before we cut the pattern out of the silk." The word muslin comes from the French mousseline, which is rooted in Mosul, the city in Iraq where Western traders first encountered the fabric. This ancient muslin was a luxurious material, while today's is much more ordinary and affordable.
Vocabulary lists containing muslin
Lyddie
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"The Little Mermaid" by Hans Christian Andersen
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Prairie Lotus
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Muslin said that Flowers did not have his face covered during the incident.
From Fox News • Dec. 19, 2021
In 2017, Imam FM was taken off air after it broadcast 25 hours of lectures by Anwar Al-Awlaki, a US-born radical Muslin cleric, killed in a US drone strike in Yemen in 2011.
From BBC • Aug. 10, 2021
City Mouse Muslin Button Dress: This classic organic-cotton dress, designed in West Seattle, is a natural beauty for holiday parties and family pictures.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 19, 2019
Slavoljub Muslin was removed as coach despite the successful qualifying campaign, with Mladen Krstajic placed in temporary command.
From Washington Times • Nov. 29, 2017
Dick on the Improvement of Society by the Diffusion of Knowledge. 18mo, Muslin, 45 cents.
From Popular Education For the use of Parents and Teachers, and for Young Persons of Both Sexes by Mayhew, Ira
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
