fustian

(fusc̸hən, fustyən)

noun

  1. Historical a coarse cloth of cotton and linen
  2. a thick cotton cloth with a short nap, as corduroy, velveteen, etc.
  3. pompous, pretentious talk or writing; bombast; rant

Origin: ME < OFr fustaigne < ML fustaneum (< L fustis, wooden stick) used as transl. of Gr xylinon < xylinos, wooden (in LXX, cotton)

adjective

  1. made of fustian
  2. pompous and pretentious

See fustian in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun
  1. a. A coarse sturdy cloth made of cotton and flax.
    b. Any of several thick twilled cotton fabrics, such as corduroy, having a short nap.
  2. Pretentious speech or writing; pompous language.
adjective
  1. Made of or as if of fustian: [He] disliked the heavy, fustian … and brocaded decor of Soviet officialdom” (Frederick Forsyth).
  2. Pompous, bombastic, and ranting: “Yossarian was unmoved by the fustian charade of the burial ceremony” (Joseph Heller).

Origin:

Origin: Middle English

Origin: , from Old French fustaigne

Origin: , from Medieval Latin fūstānum, fūstiānum

Origin: , possibly from Latin fūstis, wooden stick, club (translation of Greek xulinos, wood-linen, cotton)

Origin: or from El Fostat (El Fustat), a section of Cairo, Egypt

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