English
chambray
Chambray comes from French cambrer ‘cambric’.
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcambreras cambrai‘cambric’
- Englishearliest quotation 1793chambray
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcambreras cambrai‘cambric’
- Englishearliest quotation 1793chambray
Earliest quotation: 1793, Jane Austen: “She lies wrapped in a book muslin bedgown, a…”
The story
From French cambrai (‘cambric’), and its source, Cambrai, the city in France where it originated; probably with alteration after chamber.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kh₂em- ‘to bend, to curve’
campaign, campus, champion, kemp, chimney, kam, champaign, skimp, gam, cantonment, jamb, campanile, campagna, gamba, 20 more
through Ancient Greek καμάρα ‘anything with an arched cover such as a…’
through Latin camera ‘a room, especially a vaulted room, a vault’
camera, cabaret, camaraderie, 11 more
through Latin camur ‘curved, bent, crooked’
Today it means
noun A soft fabric woven with a white weft and coloured warp.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / French cambrer / chambray