wool

Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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See also: Wool

English[edit]

A sheep being sheared for its wool.

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English wolle, from Old English wull, from Proto-West Germanic *wullu, from Proto-Germanic *wullō, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wĺ̥h₁neh₂.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

wool (usually uncountable, plural wools)

  1. The hair of the sheep, llama and some other ruminants.
    • 2006, Nigel Guy Wilson, Ancient Greece, page 692:
      The sheep were caught and plucked, because shears had not yet been invented to cut the wool from the sheep's back.
  2. A cloth or yarn made from the wool of sheep.
    • 2009, January 12, “Mireya Navarro”, in It May Market Organic Alternatives, but Is Your Cleaner Really Greener?:
      Spielvogel said wet cleaning also has limitations; while it is fine for cottons and fabrics worn in warm climates, he said, it can damage heavy wools or structured clothes like suit jackets.
  3. Anything with a texture like that of wool.
    • 1975, Anthony Julian Huxley, Plant and Planet, page 223:
      The groundsels have leaves covered in wool for insulation []
  4. A fine fiber obtained from the leaves of certain trees, such as firs and pines.
  5. (obsolete) Short, thick hair, especially when crisped or curled.
  6. (Britain, New Zealand) Yarn, including that made from synthetic fibers.
  7. (Liverpudlian, derogatory) A resident of a satellite town outside Liverpool, such as St Helens or Warrington. See also Yonner.

Hyponyms[edit]

Coordinate terms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

  • Japanese: ウール (ūru)

Translations[edit]

See also[edit]

Cornish[edit]

Noun[edit]

wool

  1. Soft mutation of gool.

Tlingit[edit]

Noun[edit]

wool

  1. hole