linen

See also: Linen

English

three linen fabrics

Etymology

From Middle English lynnen, lynen, from Old English līnen (“linen", "made of flax”), from Proto-West Germanic *līnīn (“made of flax”), from Proto-Germanic *līną (“flax”), from Proto-Indo-European *līno- (“flax”), equivalent to line +‎ -en. Cognate with Latin līnum (“flax”). More at line.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlɪnɪn/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

linen (countable and uncountable, plural linens)

1. (uncountable) Thread or cloth made from flax fiber.
   • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 5, in The Mirror and the Lamp:

     Here, in the transept and choir, where the service was being held, one was conscious every moment of an increasing brightness; colours glowing vividly beneath the circular chandeliers, and the rows of small lights on the choristers' desks flashed and sparkled in front of the boys' faces, deep linen collars, and red neckbands.

2. (countable) Domestic textiles, such as tablecloths, bedding, towels, underclothes, 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.

   • 1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], OCLC 752825175:

     But then I had the [massive] flintlock by me for protection. ¶ […] The linen-press and a chest on the top of it formed, however, a very good gun-carriage; and, thus mounted, aim could be taken out of the window at the old mare feeding in the meadow below by the brook, […].

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

   linen:  

Hyponyms

• bedlinen
• dirty linen
• fair linen
• table linen
• underlinen

 

Derived terms

• bedlinen
• linenless
• linens
• linoleum
• underlinen

 

Related terms

• linen basket
• linen closet
• linen draper
• linen paper

 

Translations

thread or cloth made from flax fiber

• Arabic: كَتَّان‎ m (kattān)
• Armenian: քաթան (hy) (kʿatʿan)
• Bulgarian: ленено платно (leneno platno)
• Catalan: lli (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 亞麻布 (zh), 亚麻布 (zh) (yàmábù), 麻布 (zh) (mábù)

• Czech: plátno (cs) n
• Danish: hør (da) c
• Dutch: linnen (nl) n, doek (nl) n
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Faroese: hørur m, lín n
• Finnish: pellava (fi), liina (fi)
• French: toile (fr) f, lin (fr), linge (fr)
• Galician: lenzo (gl) m, liño m
• Georgian: სელი (seli)
• German: Leinen (de) n
• Greek: λινό (el) n (linó)

  Ancient: λίνον n (línon), ὀθόνη f (othónē)

• Hebrew: פשתן‎ (he) m (pishtán)
• Hungarian: vászon (hu), lenvászon (hu)
• Irish: línéadach m
• Italian: lino (it) m
• Japanese: 亜麻布 (あまぬの, amanuno), リネン (rinen), リンネル (ja) (rinneru), 麻布 (ja) (まふ, mafu)

• Khmer: ធោវន្តពស្ត្រ (tʰoovoanta’pʊəh)
• Latin: linteum n, carbasa f
• Latvian: lini pl
• Mongolian: зотон (mn) (zoton), хөвөн даавуу (khövön daavuu)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: lin n, lintøy n

  Nynorsk: lin n, lintøy n

• Old Norse: hǫrr m, lín n
• Persian: کتان‎ (fa) (katân)
• Polish: płótno (pl) n lniane (pl)
• Portuguese: linho (pt) m
• Romanian: in (ro) n
• Russian: полотно́ (ru) n (polotnó), холст (ru) m (xolst)
• Scottish Gaelic: anart m
• Serbo-Croatian: platno (sh), prten (sh)
• Spanish: lino (es) m, linge (es) m
• Swedish: linne (sv)
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Tocharian B: kenek
• Turkish: keten (tr)
• Ugaritic: 𐎔𐎘𐎚 (pṯt)
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can
• Welsh: lliain (cy) m, llieiniau (cy) m pl
• Yiddish: לײַוונט‎ f or n (layvnt)

items

• Azerbaijani: paltar (az)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 亞麻製品, 亚麻制品 (yàmá zhìpǐn)

• Finnish: liinavaate
• French: linge (fr) m
• German: Heimtextilien (de) f pl
• Japanese: リネン製品 (りねんせいひん, rinennseihin)
• Latvian: veļa f
• Mongolian: орны даавуу (orny daavuu) (bed linen), амны алчуур (amny alchuur) (table linen)

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: lintøy n

  Nynorsk: lintøy n

• Polish: bielizna (pl) f, bielizna stołowa f (table linen), bielizna pościelowa (bed linen), bielizna osobista (pl) f (undergarments)
• Portuguese: roupa (pt) f
• Romanian: lenjerie (ro) f
• Russian: бельё (ru) n (belʹjó)
• Scottish Gaelic: anart m
• Spanish: ropa blanca f
• Swedish: linne (sv)
• Welsh: lliain (cy) m, llieiniau (cy) m pl

colour

• Greek: λινόχρους (el) (linóchrous)
• Latvian: linkrāsa f

• Spanish: linocros m

Adjective

linen (not comparable)

1. Made from linen cloth or thread.
2. Having the colour linen, light beige.

See also

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

References

• linen on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Lenin, linne

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Cebuano

Etymology

From English linen, from Middle English lynnen, lynen, from Old English līnen (“linen", "made of flax”), from Proto-Germanic *līnīnaz (“made of flax”), from Proto-Germanic *līną (“flax”), from Proto-Indo-European *līno- (“flax”). Superseded lino.

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: li‧nen

Noun

linen

1. linen; thread or cloth made from flax fiber

Adjective

linen

1. made from linen cloth or thread

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Cornish

Noun

linen f (plural linennow or linednow)

1. singulative of lin
2. thread

Synonyms

• (thread): neusen/neujen

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Old English

Alternative forms

• līnin, līnnen, līnnin

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *līnīnaz, equivalent to līne +‎ -en.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈliː.nen/

Adjective

līnen

1. (relational) linen

Declension

Declension of līnen — Strong

Singular	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	līnen	līnenu, līnnu, līneno, līnno	līnen
Accusative	līnenne	līnene, līnne	līnen
Genitive	līnenes, līnnes	līnenre	līnenes, līnnes
Dative	līnenum, līnnum	līnenre	līnenum, līnnum
Instrumental	līnene, līnne	līnenre	līnene, līnne
Plural	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	līnene, līnne	līnena, līnna, līnene, līnne	līnenu, līnnu, līneno, līnno
Accusative	līnene, līnne	līnena, līnna, līnene, līnne	līnenu, līnnu, līneno, līnno
Genitive	līnenra	līnenra	līnenra
Dative	līnenum, līnnum	līnenum, līnnum	līnenum, līnnum
Instrumental	līnenum, līnnum	līnenum, līnnum	līnenum, līnnum

Declension of līnen — Weak

Singular	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	līnena, līnna	līnene, līnne	līnene, līnne
Accusative	līnenan, līnnan	līnenan, līnnan	līnene, līnne
Genitive	līnenan, līnnan	līnenan, līnnan	līnenan, līnnan
Dative	līnenan, līnnan	līnenan, līnnan	līnenan, līnnan
Instrumental	līnenan, līnnan	līnenan, līnnan	līnenan, līnnan
Plural	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	līnenan, līnnan	līnenan, līnnan	līnenan, līnnan
Accusative	līnenan, līnnan	līnenan, līnnan	līnenan, līnnan
Genitive	līnenra, līnenena, līnnena	līnenra, līnenena, līnnena	līnenra, līnenena, līnnena
Dative	līnenum, līnnum	līnenum, līnnum	līnenum, līnnum
Instrumental	līnenum, līnnum	līnenum, līnnum	līnenum, līnnum

Descendants

• Middle English: lynnen; lynen
  • English: linen
  • Scots: linin, linnin

References

• Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller (1898), “línen”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.