flannel English · revision 1474

+ {{infobox|confidence=disputed|formation=borrowing|attested=1300–01}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈflænəl/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|flaunneol|t=a kind of woollen cloth or garment]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) apparently a variant of [[m|enm|flanyn|t=sackcloth]].^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(RHWU)^(MWU 2024) The traditional explanation, given by Skeat and others, derives it from [[cy|gwlanen|t=woollen article, flannel]], from [[m|cy|gwlân|t=wool]] (see [[wool]]),^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(Klein 1966)^(Skeat 1911)^(MWU 2024) and the OED notes that flannel was already a well-known product of Wales in the 16th century.^(Etymonline) Barnhart objects that the Welsh consonant cluster would have given English gl-, as in the name Gladys, and prefers [[fro|flaine|t=a kind of coarse wool]].^(Barnhart 1995)^(AHD)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A kind of woollen cloth or garment (1300–01 in Barnhart, as ''flaunneol''; c. 1300 in Etymonline; 1503 in the OED and Merriam-Webster).^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the 17th century ''flannel'' was a shroud, since the dead had by law to be buried in wool,^(OED 1989) and it was used jokingly for a Welshman (1598).^(OED 1989) The plural ''flannels'' means flannel garments, especially trousers or underclothes.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) In British English a ''flannel'' is a cloth for washing the face (1819).^(OED 1989)^(Collins 2023) The slang sense “nonsense, flattery, evasive talk” arose in the 1920s, apparently in military slang,^(OED 1989)^(Cresswell 2021) and the verb, to flatter or speak evasively, followed in 1941.^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1300–01 – ''flaunneol'', a woollen cloth.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1503 – first quotation in the OED.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1598 – a Welshman (jocular).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1819 – a washcloth.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1927 – nonsense, flattery (slang).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1941 – verb, to flatter.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A soft woven fabric of [[wool]], or of wool blended with cotton or synthetic fibres, with a slightly napped surface.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''flannels'': trousers or other garments made of flannel; flannel underclothes.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(British)'' A small cloth for washing the face and hands; a [[washcloth]].^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(British informal)'' Evasive or flattering talk; nonsense.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To wrap in or rub with flannel.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # ''(British informal)'' To flatter, or to speak evasively.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[flannelly]]

+ * [[flannelboard]]

+ * [[flannelette]]

+ * [[flannelmouth]]

+ * [[Canton flannel]]

+ * [[flannel cake]]

+ * [[flannel leaf]]

+ * [[outing flannel]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[wool]]

+ * [[linsey-woolsey]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}