tweed English · revision 1189

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /twiːd/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It was originally a trade name,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) said to come from a misreading of Scots ''tweel'', a form of [[twill]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) helped by association with the River Tweed in the Scottish Borders.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995) Merriam-Webster and Random House instead take it from Scots ''tweedling'' “twilled cloth”.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) Etymonline links the name to ''Tweed'' fishing trousers advertised in London in the 1830s.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A rough twilled woollen cloth (1847 in Barnhart and the OED, said to be used from about 1831;^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989) 1839 in Etymonline, and 1837 as an adjective).^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The cloth was made chiefly in the south of Scotland,^(OED 1989)^(RHWU) and in the plural ''tweeds'' came to mean clothes made of it.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) The adjective ''tweedy'' (1912) was later applied to the country or suburban set who wore it.^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1837 – adjective, of tweed cloth.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1839 – the cloth (Etymonline; 1847 in Barnhart and the OED).^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1912 – ''tweedy''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A coarse, rough [[wool|alt=woollen]] fabric, often in a [[twill]] weave, used for suits and coats.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(plural)'' Clothing made of this fabric.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+ # A paper with a rough surface, used for some photographic prints.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[tweedy]]

+ * [[Harris tweed]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[twill]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}