definitions

linen

[ lin-uh n ]
/ ˈlɪn ən /
||
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR linen ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

fabric woven from flax yarns.
Often linens. bedding, tablecloths, shirts, etc., made of linen cloth or a more common substitute, as cotton.
yarn made of flax fiber.
thread made of flax yarns.

adjective

made of linen: a linen jacket.

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RELATED WORDS

cloth, bedding, lingerie, lawn, thread, paper, damask, napery, cambric, brabant, dornick, toile

Nearby words

linecaster, linecasting, lineker, lineman, lineman's pliers, linen, linen closet, linen draper, linen panel, linen paper, linenfold

Idioms

    wash one's dirty linen in public, to discuss in public one's private scandals, disagreements, or difficulties.

Origin of linen

before 900; Middle English lin(n)en (noun, adj.), Old English linnen, līnen (adj.) made of flax, equivalent to līn flax (< Latin līnum; see line2) + -en -en2

Related forms

lin·en·y, adjectivehalf-lin·en, adjectiveun·der·lin·en, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for linen

British Dictionary definitions for linen

linen

/ (ˈlɪnɪn) /

noun

  1. a hard-wearing fabric woven from the spun fibres of flax
  2. (as modifier)a linen tablecloth
yarn or thread spun from flax fibre
clothes, sheets, tablecloths, etc, made from linen cloth or from a substitute such as cotton
See linen paper

Word Origin for linen

Old English linnen, ultimately from Latin līnum flax, line ²
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

Idioms and Phrases with linen

linen

see wash one's dirty linen in public.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.