Fustian

Fustian

Fustian (also called bombast) is a term for a variety of heavy woven, mostly cotton fabrics, chiefly prepared for menswear. It is also used to refer to pompous, inflated or pretentious writing or speech, from at least the time of Shakespeare.

History and use

It embraces plain twilled cloth known as jean, and cut fabrics similar to velvet, known as velveteen, moleskin, corduroy "etc." The original medieval fustian was a stout but respectable cloth with a cotton weft and a linen warp, possibly derived from "El-Fustat", the name of a suburb of Cairo where cloth was manufactured. [OED|fustian] [Donald King in: Jonathan Alexander & Paul Binski (eds), "Age of Chivalry, Art in Plantagenet England, 1200-1400", p.157, Royal Academy/Weidenfeld & Nicholson, London 1987] The term seems to have quickly become less precise, and was applied to a coarse cloth made of wool and flax or wool and linen, and in the reign of Edward III of England, the name was given to a woollen fabric. By the early 20th century, fustians were usually of cotton dyed various colors.

In a petition to Parliament during the reign of Mary I "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.

Political significance

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." [See Paul A. Pickering, "Class Without Words: Symbolic Communication in the Chartist Movement"]

Notes

References

* [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=fustian The Online Etymology Dictionary]
*1911
*Pickering, Paul, A., "Class Without Words: Symbolic Communication in the Chartist Movement", "Past and Present", cxii, August 1986, 144-162.


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  • Fustian — Fus tian, a. 1. Made of fustian. [1913 Webster] 2. Pompous; ridiculously tumid; inflated; bombastic; as, fustian history. Walpole. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Fustian — Fus tian, n. [OE. fustan, fustian, OF. fustaine, F. futaine, It. fustagno, fr. LL. fustaneum, fustanum; cf. Pr. fustani, Sp. fustan. So called from Fust[=a]t, i. e., Cairo, where it was made.] 1. A kind of coarse twilled cotton or cotton and… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • fustian — [fus′chən, fust′yən] n. [ME < OFr fustaigne < ML fustaneum (< L fustis, wooden stick) used as transl. of Gr xylinon < xylinos, wooden (in LXX, cotton)] 1. Historical a coarse cloth of cotton and linen 2. a thick cotton cloth with a… …   English World dictionary

  • fustian — I adjective bombastic, declamatory, flatulent, gausape, grandiloquent, grandiose, high flown, high sounding, inflated, mouthy, orotund, pompous, pretentious, ranting, swollen, tumid, turgid II noun affectation, altiloquence, bombast, bombastic… …   Law dictionary

  • fustian — thick cotton cloth, c.1200, from O.Fr. fustaigne, from M.L. fustaneum, probably from L. fustis staff, stick of wood, probably a loan translation of Gk. xylina lina linens of wood (i.e. cotton ), but the M.L. word also is sometimes said to be from …   Etymology dictionary

  • fustian — n rant, rodomontade, *bombast, rhapsody …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • fustian — [adj] pompous arrogant, boastful, bombastic, conceited, flaunting, high and mighty*, highfalutin, lofty, ostentatious, pontifical, portentous, pretentious, puffed up*, ranting, self centered, self important, vain, vainglorious; concepts… …   New thesaurus

  • fustian — ► NOUN ▪ a thick, hard wearing twilled cloth. ORIGIN from Latin pannus fustaneus cloth from Fostat , a suburb of Cairo …   English terms dictionary

  • fustian — /fus cheuhn/, n. 1. a stout fabric of cotton and flax. 2. a fabric of stout twilled cotton or of cotton and low quality wool, with a short nap or pile. 3. inflated or turgid language in writing or speaking: Fustian can t disguise the author s… …   Universalium

  • fustian — noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo French fustian, fustayn, from Medieval Latin fustaneum, probably from fustis tree trunk, from Latin, stick, cudgel Date: 13th century 1. a. a strong cotton and linen fabric b. a class of cotton fabrics… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

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