lining

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈlaɪnɪŋ/^[1]

Etymology

It is a verbal noun from linen (“to line a garment”) (see line) and -ing.^[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The material with which garments are lined: 1378 in Barnhart, the late 14th century in Etymonline;^[2][3] the OED's first quotation is from 1401–2.^[5]

Semantic evolution

Contents, what is inside, is a figurative sense from about 1430.^[5] The extended sense, any covering of an inner surface, is from 1713,^[3][5] and the action of providing a lining by 1839.^[3][5] The proverb every cloud has a silver lining is recorded in the OED from 1634.^[5] In dialect, linings were drawers or underclothing, from 1614.^[5]

Timeline

• 1378 – lining of a garment.^[2]
• c. 1430 – contents (figurative).^[5]
• 1634 – the proverb.^[5]
• 1713 – any inner covering.^[3][5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A layer of material covering the inside surface of something, such as a garment or a pipe.
2. The material used for such a layer.

Word family

• underlining
• long-lining
• interlining
• brake lining
• silver lining

Related words

• line
• linen

Usage notes

In Scotland, Ireland, Yorkshire and Cheshire a lining was a thick cross-piece of wood;^[6] in Cheshire it also meant the cord of a bricksetter's line.^[6]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)