Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Thread made from fibers of the flax plant.
- n. Cloth woven from this thread.
- n. Articles or garments made from linen or a similar cloth, such as cotton; bed sheets and tablecloths.
- n. Paper made from flax fibers or having a linenlike luster.
- adj. Made of flax or linen.
- adj. Resembling linen.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Made of the fibers of flax: as, linen thread; linen cloth.
- Resembling linen cloth; white; pale.
- n. A fabric of linen yarn or thread; cloth woven from the fibers of flax; in the plural, linen cloth in general; manufactures of flax-fiber: as, Irish linens. The principal fabrics included in the term linens are lawn, cambric, batiste, damask, diaper, and glass-cloth, besides the heavy qualities known as toweling, shirting, sheeting, etc.
- n. Collectively, articles of linen fabric, or by extension (in modern use) of linen and cotton, or of cotton alone for household use, as tablecloths, napkins, etc. (table-linen), sheets and pillow-cases (bed-linen), towels, etc., or for underwear (body-linen), etc.
- n. Linen thread.
- n. Cloth made of hemp.
- n. plural Sails.
Wiktionary
- n. uncountable Thread or cloth made from flax fiber.
- n. countable Domestic textiles, such as tablecloths, bedding, towels, under clothes, etc., that are made of linen or linen-like fabrics of cotton or other fibers; linens.
- n. A light beige colour, like that of linen cloth undyed.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Made of linen
- adj. Resembling linen cloth; white; pale.
- n. Thread or cloth made of flax or (rarely) of hemp; -- used in a general sense to include cambric, shirting, sheeting, towels, tablecloths, etc.
- n. Underclothing, esp. the shirt, as being, in former times, chiefly made of linen.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a fabric woven with fibers from the flax plant
- n. white goods or clothing made with linen cloth
- n. a high-quality paper made of linen fibers or with a linen finish
Etymologies
- From Middle English, from Old English līnen ("linen", "made of flax"), from Proto-Germanic *līnīnaz (“made of flax”), from Proto-Germanic *līnan (“flax”), from Proto-Indo-European *līn- (“flax”). Cognate with Latin linum ("flax"). More at line. (Wiktionary)
- Middle English, from Old English līnen, made of flax, from Germanic *līnin-, from *līnam, flax, probably from Latin līnum; see librevema.gifno- in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“After long and exhaustive trials, we have come to the conclusion that the best material for wearing next the skin is knitted linen, and the best knitted linen of the kind, and in fact, the only pure linen mesh material which we have seen, is known as _Kneipp linen_, and can be obtained from all leading retailers and outfitters in this and other countries.”
“a cotton and linen cloth, and _diaper linen_ was woven of flax with a raised figure such as in damask, and used chiefly for table-linen.”
“His taste in linen is classical; she was not fortunate.”
“Note: All references to "linen" is not our linen derived from flax, but a similar appearing and feeling fabric extracted from a particular kelp on Skene.”
“And on Saturdays, young men in linen trousers lined up to drink papa's bourbon, and get close to Blanche; flowers in her hair, eyes unfocused, why yes I'd like another drink you silly goose.”
“The value of the linen is determined by the coat, by saying that we can exchange the coat for it and will be exchanging equal values.”
“Whether 20 yards of linen = 1 coat or = 20 coats or = x coats – that is, whether a given quantity of linen is worth few or many coats, every statement implies that the linen and coats, as magnitudes of value, are expressions of the same unit, things of the same kind.”
“The value of the linen is represented as relative value, or appears in relative form.”
“The value of the commodity linen is expressed by the bodily form of the commodity coat, and the value of one by the use-value of the other.”
“As a use-value, the linen is something palpably different from the coat; as value, it is the same as the coat, and now has the appearance of a coat.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘linen’.
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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Uncommon Colours
azure, myrtle, periwinkle, viridian, jade, emerald, lime, chartreuse, asparagus, celadon, harlequin, olive and 147 more...
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IMCO - EU nomenclature
includes words of the "Prodcom list"
abaca, abdominal, abrasive, absorbent, absorber, accelerator, accessory, account book, accumulator, acebutolol, acetaldehyde, acetamide and 4515 more...
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RELI - words with Biblical connotations
Words in the Bible evoking biblical stories or with special spiritual meaning. Proper names have been reduced to the minimum.
ark, judgement, holy, saint, baptism, spirit, love, eternal, altar, balsam, covenant, flood and 1115 more...
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Lines
lines, line, recline, line item, incline, Line Islands, acetylcholine, aclinic line, linen, Linear A, line storm, landline and 13 more...
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lala lala lala
the ell's have it
dishabille, pillow, marshmallow, quilt, cloud, silk, linen, flannel, recline, cuddle, lullaby, Llullaillaco and 15 more...
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window dressing
chemise, gossamer, tweed, pleat, fold, cuff, button, shirttails, ascot, cummerbund, velvet, silk and 104 more...
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thing
apron, lard, clove, camphor, alfalfa, amber, caraway, juniper, kohl, lute, shale, glyph and 142 more...
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the first list
an immense, grandiloquent list that loads like a thousand years sentence in stone. new words are in the other lists.
ridiculous, brummagem, predicament, sanctimonious, vapid, eschew, admonish, auspicious, capitulation, enumerate, lachrymose, tenet and 1648 more...
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Buttery
Words that make me feel cozy
Noodle, Nugget, Butter, Soft, Snug, Feather, Socks, Knit, Mug, Curl, Billow, Lounge and 315 more...
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kat's words
ecumenical, cacophony, clatter, marimba, bamboo, saffron, slice, mercurial, pomegranate, cranky, slipshod, scritch and 511 more...
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wanderstar's Words
superlative, mulish, mumps, catatonic, aquiline, clandestine, phantasmagoria, chryselephantine, microfiche, mutineer, reprobate, ruthless and 312 more...
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Just 'cause I like 'em, L
lisle, lahar, loupe, labret, latten, luster, lagomorph, lamentation, limicole, lunge, lobtail, latifolious and 182 more...
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theastic's Words
cellar, stalemate, wrought, opal, tyrant, squelch, squab, linen, tartan, paisley, scope, siren and 395 more...
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A Parthian Shot: Archery Words
Just what it says. Archery rocks.
bow, arrow, longbow, crossbow, barebow, recurve, compound bow, flight, arrowhead, nock, feather, yew and 197 more...
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Namesakes
Words derived from names, be they historical, literary, or mythological.
quixotic, cereal, odyssey, jovial, mercurial, erotic, achilles' heel, confucianism, lovecraftian, narcissism, echo, fallopian and 101 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for linen.
chained_bear Captured at Yorktown: "537 pieces linen." This was listed separately from red cloth, red flannel, blue cloth, white cloth, and oznabrig. Oct 29, 2007