muslin

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muslin

  • /ˈmʌz.lɪn/

Where it comes from

From French mousseline, from Italian mussolina, from Mussolo (“Mosul”), that is Mosul in northern Iraq (compare 1875 Knight, Edward H., Knight's American Mechanical Dictionary, V2 p1502: "Muslins are so called from Moussol in India."). Doublet of mousseline.

noun muslins · muselin

  1. uncountable, usually Any of several varieties of thin cotton cloth. […] my pupils leave off their thick shoes and tight old tartan pelisses, and wear silk stockings and muslin frocks, as fashionable baronets' daughters should.
  2. US, uncountable, usually Fabric made of cotton, flax (linen), hemp, or silk, finely or coarsely woven. Other very different styles of fabric are now indifferently called muslins, and the term is used differently on the respective sides of the Atlantic.
  3. uncountable, usually Any of a wide variety of tightly-woven thin fabrics, especially those used for bedlinen.
  4. US, uncountable, usually Woven cotton or linen fabrics, especially when used for items other than garments.
  5. countable, usually A mock-up of a garment pattern made of inexpensive fabric for the purpose of optimizing its fit on the wearer, before the garment is produced in more expensive fabric. Fitting this pattern is tricky, so we recommend you make a muslin first.
  6. uncountable, usually Any of several different moths, especially the muslin moth, Diaphora mendica.
  7. uncountable, usually Woman as sex object; prostitute, as in a bit of muslin. "That was a pretty bit of muslin hanging on your arm—who was she?” asked the fascinating student.

Translations

Every language

noun thin cotton cloth

Españolmuselina
日本語モスリン, 毛斯綸 mosurin, モス mosu, メリンス merinsu, 唐縮緬 tōchirimen
हिन्दीमलमल malmal
Portuguêsmusselina
Françaismousseline
DeutschMusselin
Italianomussola
Ελληνικάμουσελίνα mouselína
Românămuselină, muselin, muslin
Русскиймусли́н muslín
العربيةمَوْصِلِيّ mawṣiliyy

noun thin fabric used for bedlinen

العربيةمَوْصِلِيّ mawṣiliyy

noun dressmaker's pattern

العربيةمَوْصِلِيّ mawṣiliyy

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Cite this
MLA

"muslin." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/muslin. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

muslin. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/muslin

Chicago

"muslin." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/muslin.

BibTeX
@misc{muslin_2026,
  title = {muslin},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/muslin},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}