flannel

[ flan-l ]

/ ˈflæn l /

noun

a soft, slightly napped fabric of wool or wool and another fiber, used for trousers, jackets, shirts, etc.

a soft, warm, light fabric of cotton or cotton and another fiber, thickly napped on one side and used for sleepwear, undergarments, sheets, etc.

flannels,

an outer garment, especially trousers, made of flannel.
woolen undergarments.

British.

a washcloth.
Informal. nonsense; humbug; empty talk.
Informal. flattery; insincere or overdone praise.

verb (used with object), flan·neled, flan·nel·ing or (especially British), flan·nelled, flan·nel·ling.

to cover or clothe with flannel.

to rub with flannel.

RELATED WORDS

thermals, woolens

Nearby words

Origin of flannel

1300–50; Middle English flaunneol, perhaps dissimilated variant of flanyn sackcloth < Welsh; compare Welsh gwlanen woolen article, equivalent to gwlân wool (akin to Latin lāna) + -en suffix denoting a single item (as a piece of a mass noun or singular of a collective plural)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for flannel

Have you met the lumbersexual: all beards, flannel shirts, and work boots?
How Straight World Stole ‘Gay’: The Last Gasp of the ‘Lumbersexual’|Tim Teeman|November 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Wearing dashikis, yukatas, and flannel robes—any kind of billowing uni-garment will do the trick.
Nathaniel Rich: How I Write|Noah Charney|April 3, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Although there was that grungy-vibe (flannel shirts and biker boots), it was girly, young even.
Hedi Slimane's Second Collection For Saint Laurent: Grunge Galore|Alice Cavanagh|March 4, 2013|DAILY BEAST
He was unshaven, with a full mustache and wearing a flannel shirt over a hooded sweatshirt.
10 Shocking Bits From Book About How Texas Executed an Innocent Man|Ben Jacobs|May 16, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Mehlman, a man seemingly born in a well-pressed suit, basked in the victory, relaxed in a flannel shirt.
Gay Marriage’s Unlikely Hero|Samuel P. Jacobs|June 26, 2011|DAILY BEAST
The material used was flannel, and such interments are frequently mentioned in the literature of the time.
A History of Mourning|Richard Davey
Wilkes was defended by Pitt, who came to the house again enveloped in flannel, and this time supported by crutches.
The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.III.|E. Farr and E. H. Nolan
Two gentlemen in flannel, with guns, are urging a little row-boat up toward the interior country.
Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science|Various
He saw a straight, slender figure, in flannel shirt and khaki.
Overland Red|Henry Herbert Knibbs
The blanket stitch is a favourite for working the edge of flannel skirts or quilted covers.
The Library of Work and Play: Needlecraft|Effie Archer Archer

British Dictionary definitions for flannel

flannel

/ (ˈflænəl) /

noun

a soft light woollen fabric with a slight nap, used for clothing

(plural) trousers or other garments made of flannel

See cotton flannel

British a small piece of cloth used to wash the face and hands; face clothUS and Canadian equivalent: washcloth

British informal indirect or evasive talk; deceiving flattery

verb -nels, -nelling or -nelled or US -nels, -neling or -neled (tr)

to cover or wrap with flannel

to rub, clean, or polish with flannel

British informal to talk evasively to; flatter in order to mislead

Derived Formsflannelly, adjective

Word Origin for flannel

C14: probably variant of flanen sackcloth, from Welsh gwlanen woollen fabric, from gwlân wool

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for flannel

flannel

c.1500, probably from Welsh gwlanen "woolen cloth," from gwlan "wool," from Celtic *wlana, from PIE *wele- "wool."

The Welsh origin is not a universally accepted etymology, due to the sound changes involved; some (Barnhart, Gamillscheg) suggest the English word is from an Anglo-French diminutive of Old French flaine "a kind of coarse wool." "As flannel was already in the 16th c. a well-known production of Wales, a Welsh origin for the word seems antecedently likely" [OED]. Modern French flanelle is a 17c. borrowing from English.