Fustian
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fustian is a term for a variety of heavy woven cotton fabrics, chiefly prepared for menswear. It is also used to refer to pompous, inflated or pretentious writing or speech.
It embraces plain twilled cloth called jean, and cut fabrics similar to velvet, known as velveteen, moleskin, corduroy etc. The term was once applied to a coarse cloth made of wool and flax or wool and linen. Now, fustians are usually of cotton and dyed various colors. In the reign of Edward III of England, the name was given to a woollen fabric.
Fustian was worn by workers during the 19th century. As such, radical elements of the British working class chose to wear Fustian jackets as a symbol of their class allegiance. This was especially marked during the Chartist era. The historian Paul Pickering has called the wearing of fustian "a statement of class without words."
The name is said to be derived from El-Fustat, a suburb of Cairo, where it was first made; and certainly a kind of cloth has long been known under that name. In a petition to parliament, temp. Philip and Mary, fustian of Naples is mentioned. In the 13th and 14th centuries priests' robes and women's dresses were made of fustian, but though dresses are still made from some kinds, the chief use is for labourers' clothes.
[edit] References
- The Online Etymology Dictionary
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
