Etymograph

English

fustian

Fustian may come from Middle English fustian ‘type of fabric, probably made from cotton,…’.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fustian‘type of fabric, probably made from cotton, flax, or wool’uncertain
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1523same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Earlier history uncertain.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fustian‘type of fabric, probably made from cotton, flax, or wool’uncertain
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1523same form

Earliest quotation: 1523, John Skelton, A Ryght Delectable Tratyse vpon a Goodly Garlande or Chapele: “Hard to make ought of that is nakid nought;…”

The story

The noun is derived from Middle English fustian (‘type of fabric, probably made from cotton, flax, or wool; piece of fustian spread over a bed or mattress’) [and other forms], from Old French fustaine, fustaigne (modern French futaine), from Medieval Latin fūstāneum, from (pannus) fūstāneus or (tela) fūstānea, of disputed origin.disputed Scholars disagree here; the competing view is quoted as the source gives it. Sense 3 (‘inflated, pompous, or pretentious speech or writing’) is possibly from the fact that the fabric was sometimes used to make cushion- and pillowcases, thus suggesting that the speech or writing is “padded” or “stuffed”; compare bombast. The relationship between sense 4 (‘hot drink made of a mixture of alcoholic beverages with egg yolk, lemon, and spices’) and the fabric is unclear.uncertain The source flags this step as uncertain.

Every English word from Middle English fustian

Today it means

noun Originally, a kind of coarse fabric made from cotton and flax; now, a kind of coarse twilled cotton, or cotton and linen, stuff with a short pile and often dyed a dull colour, which is chiefly prepared for menswear.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Middle English fustian / fustian

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