sea-island cotton
Americannoun
noun
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a cotton plant, Gossypium barbadense, of the Sea Islands, widely cultivated for its fine long fibres
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the fibre of this plant or the material woven from it
Etymology
Origin of sea-island cotton
An Americanism dating back to 1795–1805
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.
Foppish back story: Most men cannot afford to buy shirts made of sea-island cotton.
From Slate • Apr. 9, 2012
Bresciani 100 percent sea-island cotton Another $59 entrant from the Italian hosiery specialists.
From Slate • Apr. 9, 2012
And for all its charms, sea-island cotton is still not nearly as warm or soft as cashmere.
From Slate • Apr. 9, 2012
"My white shirts are made of sea-island cotton," Sander explains, "in the finest gauge you can spin."
From Time Magazine Archive
How long the exclusive production, even of the sea-island cotton, will remain to our country, is yet a doubtful and interesting problem.
From Cotton is King, and Pro-Slavery Arguments Comprising the Writings of Hammond, Harper, Christy, Stringfellow, Hodge, Bledsoe, and Cartrwright on This Important Subject by Elliott, E. N.
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.
