Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Linen

Lin′en (lĭn′ĕn), a. [OE., fr. lin linen. See Linen, n.] 1. Made of linen; as, linen cloth; a linen stocking.

2. Resembling linen cloth; white; pale.

Lin′en, n. [Prop. an adj. from OE. lin flax, AS. līn flax, whence līnen made of flax; akin to OS., Icel., & MHG. līn flax and linen, G. lein, leinen, linen, Sw. lin flax, Goth. lein linen, L. linum flax, linen, Gr. λίνον. Cf. Line, Linseed.] 1. Thread or cloth made of flax or (rarely) of hemp; — used in a general sense to include cambric, shirting, sheeting, towels, tablecloths, etc. "In linen white as milk." Robert of Brunne.

2. Underclothing, esp. the shirt, as being, in former times, chiefly made of linen.

Linen draper, a dealer in linen. — Linen prover, a small microscope for counting the threads in a given space in linen fabrics. — Linen scroll, Linen pattern (Arch.), an ornament for filling panels, copied from the folds of a piece of stuff symmetrically disposed.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article.