balbriggan

American  

[bal-brig-uhn] / bælˈbrɪg ən /

noun

1. a plain-knit cotton fabric, used especially in hosiery and underwear.

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balbriggan British  

/ bælˈbrɪɡən /

noun

1. a knitted unbleached cotton fabric

2. (often plural) underwear made of this

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Etymology

Origin of balbriggan

First recorded in 1855–60; after Balbriggan, town in Ireland, where first made

Example Sentences

Stripped to a suit of balbriggan underwear in one scene, Clark Gable reveals a paunch.

From Time Magazine Archive

Six changes of underwear—merino or wool—and a dozen balbriggan or woolen hose will be sufficient.

From The Complete Bachelor Manners for Men by Germain, Walter

Below the dam, in a blue balbriggan bathing suit, stood James Minturn, his hands filled with a big piece of sod which he bent and applied to a leak.

From Michael O'Halloran by Stratton-Porter, Gene

Then, in all the glory of his brown balbriggan undershirt, he stood up in the aisle.

From Abroad at Home American Ramblings, Observations, and Adventures of Julian Street by Street, Julian

But fancy the shock to one’s æstheticism at seeing coarse balbriggan allied to barbaric splendour.

From A Woman's Journey through the Philippines On a Cable Ship that Linked Together the Strange Lands Seen En Route by Russel, Florence Kimball