Bombazine
/ˈbɒm.bə.ziːn/noun
A twilled fabric, originally of silk or silk and wool, used especially for mourning clothes.
Did you know?Bombazine entered English as a luxury mourning cloth, and its name likely traveled through trade routes from a silk-making tradition in the East, giving this somber fabric an almost exotic, ritual aura.
Etymological Timeline
Late Medieval / Early Modern
English
bombazine
“A fine black cloth used especially for mourning garments.”
16th Century
French
bombasin / bombasin(e)
“A type of silk fabric, often black and used for mourning.”
Medieval Latin
ML
bombasinus
“A silk fabric or cloth.”
Middle Greek
Greek
bombyx
“Silkworm; silk, especially silk thread or cloth.”
Classical Latin
Latin
bombyx
“Silkworm; silk fabric.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
βόμβυξ (bómbux)
“Silkworm; silk-producing insect.”