linen

English

Wikipedia

Etymology

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.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈlɪnɪn/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

linen (countable and uncountable; plural linens)

1. (uncountable) Thread or cloth made from flax fiber.
2. (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.

   She put the freshly cleaned linens into the linen closet.

3. A light beige colour, like that of linen cloth undyed.

   linen colour:

Translations

material

• Arabic: كتان (ar) (kattān) m
• Catalan: lli m
• Czech: plátno (cs) n
• Dutch: linnen (nl) n, doek (nl) n
• Finnish: pellava (fi), liina (fi)
• French: toile (fr) f, lin (fr), linge (fr)
• German: Leinen (de) n
• Hebrew: פשתן (pishtán) m
• Hungarian: vászon (hu), lenvászon (hu)
• Italian: lino (it) m

• Japanese: 亜麻布 (amanuno)
• Latvian: lini (lv) pl
• Norwegian: lin (no)
• Polish: płótno (pl) n lniane (pl)
• Portuguese: linho (pt) m
• Russian: полотно (ru) (polotnó) n, холст (ru) (χolst) m
• Scottish Gaelic: anart m
• Serbian: platno, prten
• Spanish: lino (es) m

items

• Arabic: شرشف (ar) (šaršaf) m
• Finnish: liinavaate (fi)
• Japanese: リネン製品 (りねんせいひん, rinennseihinn)
• Latvian: veļa (lv) f

• Polish: bielizna (pl) f
• Russian: бельё (ru) (belʹjó) n
• Scottish Gaelic: anart m
• Spanish: ropa blanca f

colour

• Latvian: linkrāsa (lv) f

Derived terms

Terms derived from linen

bedlinen dirty linen fair linen linenless linens linen basket

linen closet linen draper linen paper underlinen linoleum

See also

• fustian
• lingerie
• muslin
• flaxen
• Appendix:Colors

Anagrams

• Lenin

---

Cornish

Noun

linen f (plural linennow, linednow)

1. Singulative form of lin.
2. thread

Synonyms

• (thread): neusen/neujen