Floss
/flɒs/ (UK), /flɑːs/ (US)noun
A soft, loose thread or fiber, especially dental thread used to clean between teeth.
Did you know?Dental floss was originally made from silk, and dentists began recommending it in the nineteenth century, long before modern nylon replaced it.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*flok-
“A reconstructed root associated with wool, tufts, or locks of fiber.”
Classical Latin
Latin
floccus
“A tuft, lock, or small bunch of wool or other fibers.”
12th–13th Century
Old French
floc / floche
“A tuft of wool, fringe, or loose cluster of fibers.”
18th Century
French
floche
“Loose silk or wool fiber, especially material used for embroidery.”
Early 19th Century
English
floss
“Silk fiber or thread, adopted from French textile vocabulary.”
1815–1819
English
floss
“Silk thread used to clean between teeth; the dental sense develops from the textile meaning.”
Modern English
English
floss
“Dental thread; also a loose fiber and, separately, a popular dance.”
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