prunella

[ proo-nel-uh ]

noun

a strong, lightweight worsted constructed in a twill weave, used in the manufacture of women's and children's apparel.
a smooth-faced fabric made of mixed fibers or wool, formerly used in the manufacture of women's dresses and of robes for clerics, scholars, and lawyers.

Origin of prunella

1650–60; perhaps special use of prunelle, from the dark color of the cloth

Also prunelle, pru·nel·lo [proo-nel-oh]. /pruˈnɛl oʊ/.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use prunella in a sentence

But with Cecilia it had been for many months as though all things had been made of leather and prunello.
Kept in the Dark | Anthony Trollope
Worth makes the man, and want of it the fellow; / The rest is all but leather or prunello.
Dictionary of Quotations from Ancient and Modern, English and Foreign Sources | James Wood
It was all "leather or prunello," as she said to herself;—it was all vanity,—and vanity,—and vanity!
The Way We Live Now | Anthony Trollope

British Dictionary definitions for prunella (1 of 2)

prunella¹

prunelle (pruːˈnɛl) or prunello (pruːˈnɛləʊ)

/ (pruːˈnɛlə) /

noun

a strong fabric, esp a twill-weave worsted, used for gowns and the uppers of some shoes

Origin of prunella

C17: perhaps from prunelle, with reference to the colour of the cloth

British Dictionary definitions for prunella (2 of 2)

prunella²

/ (pruːˈnɛlə) /

noun

See selfheal

Origin of prunella

New Latin, altered from brunella, from German Braüne quinsy, which it was thought to cure

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

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