Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Spun or woven in the home.
  • adjective Made of a homespun fabric.
  • adjective Simple and homely; unpretentious.
  • noun A plain, coarse, usually woolen cloth made of homespun yarn.
  • noun A similar sturdy fabric made on a power loom.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Spun or wrought at home; of domestic manufacture.
  • Hence Of domestic origin; plain; familiar; commonplace.
  • noun Cloth made at home; home-made clothing.
  • noun A coarse and loosely woven woolen material, made in imitation of actual home-made cloth.
  • noun A coarse, unpolished, or rustic person.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Spun or wrought at home; of domestic manufacture; coarse; plain.
  • adjective Plain in manner or style; not elegant; rude; coarse.
  • noun Cloth made at home.
  • noun obsolete An unpolished, rustic person.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective of yarn Spun in the home.
  • adjective of fabric Woven in the home.
  • adjective of clothing, etc. Made from homespun fabric.
  • adjective by extension Plain and homely; unsophisticated and unpretentious.
  • noun Fabric made from homespun yarn.
  • noun obsolete An unpolished, rustic person.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective of textiles; having a rough surface
  • noun a rough loosely woven fabric originally made with yarn that was spun at home
  • adjective characteristic of country life
  • adjective made of cloth spun or woven in the home

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word homespun.

Examples

  • Frenchman who was brought into Penobscot, dressed in homespun, and sent to meeting.

    CHAPTER XVIII 2010

  • At her feet, knelt a boy dressed in homespun cotton fringed with red indígena motifs.

    Walking the walk, talking the talk - Fiesta de Guadalupe in Puerto Vallarta 2007

  • At her feet, knelt a boy dressed in homespun cotton fringed with red indígena motifs.

    Walking the walk, talking the talk - Fiesta de Guadalupe in Puerto Vallarta 2007

  • In support of the nonimportation movements of 1765 and 1769, the Daughters of Liberty used their traditional skills to weave yarn and wool into homemade cloth they called homespun, which made America less dependent on British textiles.

    History of American Women Maggiemac 2009

  • Some time about the year 1827, two sturdy lads, tall and well proportioned but clad in homespun and barefooted, came to "Dryden Corners" from the South Hill neighborhood, driving an ox team and bringing to market a wagon load of pine shingles which they had shaved by hand.

    Living in Dryden: June 2004 Archives 2004

  • Some time about the year 1827, two sturdy lads, tall and well proportioned but clad in homespun and barefooted, came to "Dryden Corners" from the South Hill neighborhood, driving an ox team and bringing to market a wagon load of pine shingles which they had shaved by hand.

    Living in Dryden: The McGraws of Irish Settlement 2004

  • Being a bit of a Gordon Sinclair addict myself -- you know, when I did Front Page Challenge recently Mr. Sinclair was so nice to me he didn't even ask me what my salary was -- I believe in homespun philosophy.

    Bermuda Calling 1974

  • However, I must not indulge in homespun wisdom here before so distinguished an assembly, especially as I am to be followed by a representative of science.

    Knut Hamsun - Banquet Speech 1920

  • [Page 146] not take his view of it, and we think it hypocrisy objecting to a fallen woman in homespun on the stage, when a fallen woman in satin has been the theme of such a great number of plays that have been passed. '

    Our Irish Theatre: A Chapter of Autobiography 1913

  • When, contrary to the old-established custom of the demagogue, the little politician in homespun had confided to the men in front of him what he thought of them, he told them that the Woman's Movement which they held themselves so clever for ridiculing, was in much the same position to-day as the Extension of Suffrage for men was in '67.

    The Convert 1907

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • "This, then, was my bedroom and workroom. There were five beds in it, each with its own shapeless mattress made of coarse homespun and filled with corn shucks. The shucks were astonishingly noisy and the homespun was very hard on the skin, especially sunburnt skin, but the mattresses were always beautifully cool."

    - 'The Madwoman's Underclothes', Germaine Greer.

    March 26, 2008