The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1879-08-06
FOR THE FAIR SEX.
Origin OF some Familiar Names of stun

] VOCABULARY vi WOIUS OF uillOeS WHICH are
often incomprehensible to the uninitiat-
ed. In the dry goods trade, for instance,
we find large quantity of names applied
to different stufs or tissues, which have
become as familiar MS household words,
while their origin or exact significance
is a mystery even to those who use them
the most frequently.
Many of these are given by the original
manufacturer without any more conneC-
ton between the name and the texture
than there is between the child held over
the baptismal font and the Christian
name he is to bear through life; but
some Others are worthy of q little study.
The word "stuff" comes from the
Saxon Stc9, which itself is derived from
the Latin St1pa (hemp).
Satin is from the Latin Setq silk.
The discovery of silk is attributed to
one of the wives ofthe Emperor of China,
Hoang-ti, who reigned about two thou
sand years before the Christian era; and
since that time a special spot has always
been allotted in the gardens of the Chi
nese royal palace to the cultivation of
the mulberry-tree, called in Chinese the
golden tree" and the keeping of silk.
worms. The first silk dress mentioned
in history was made, not for a sovereign
nor for a pretty woman, but for the mon
ster in human shape Heliogabalus.
Persian monks who came to Constan-
tinople revealed to the Emperor JUS
tinian the secret of the production of
silk, and gave him silk-worms. From
Greece the art passed into Italy at the
end of the thirteenth century. When the
popes left Rome to settle at Avignon. in
France, they introduced into that coun-
try the secret which had been kept by
the Italians, and Louis XI. established
at Tours manufacture of silk fabrics.
Francis I. founded the Lyons silk
works, which to this day have kept the
first rank. Henry II. of France wore
the first pair of silk hose ever made, at
the wedding of his sister.
The word satin, " which in the ori-
gin was applied to all silk stufis in gen.
eral, has since the last century been used
to designate only tissues which present
a lustered surface. The discovery fthis
particularly brilliant stuff was acci-
dental. Octavio Mai, n silk weaver
finding business very dull, and not
knowing what to invent to give a new
impulse to The trade, was one day pac-
ing to and fro before his loom. Every
time he passed the machine, with no
definite object in view, he pulled little
threads from the warp and put them in
his mouth, which soon after he spat
out. He found the little ball of silk
later on the floor of his workshop. and
was attracted by the brilliant quality of
the threads. He repeated the expert
ment, and by using heat and certain
mucilaginous preparations. succeeded in
giving new luster to his tissues.
Iatfetas," which in French desig-
mates All silk stufls which have not the
gloss of satin. is derived from the Per-
sian word tqtath, meaning "spun," and
the English . sarcenet," " meaning nearly
the same, is derived from "Saracen."
More" which is also known as
watered silk" is used TO designate a
special style of finish, and has the same
origin as the word "mohair,n which
is applied to wooden texture. 1t is de-
rived from the Turkish word mo, to
which the termination chair" has been
added. The mohair originally came
from Asia Minor.
Linen" is a corruption of the Latin
hmm, which means flax.
Poult de sole" "gros grain" silk,
is derived, according to some writers,
from PddOue sole (Padua silk, and ac
cording to others, from tout de sole Gall
of silky.
"Poplin" derives its name from the
pGpettne, French fabric which was first
made at Avignon, city belonging to
the pOpes.
4" Merino" comes from Spanish word
which indicated the sheep forming large
tlocks which travelled about the country
from one pasture to another.
" Calico" derives its name from Cali
cut, tue port in India at which Vasco da
CANA first landed in 1893.
III i T.
where the stuff was first manufactured.
"Gauze," in French, gaze, was woven
at GAIA, in Palestine
Muslin" or Mousseline," is woven
from cotton termed naOuSSeur. and the
ends of the threads, instead of being
secured as in other fabrics, are allowed
to show Oh both sides of the stuff.
Shawls, the most valuable of which
are woven from the wool taken from the
breast of the goats of the mountains of
Ihlbet, and woven at Serinagur, the
capital of Cashmere, were only intro
dueed to Western Europe at the begin
ning OF the present century by the SOL
diers of Napoleon, VINO brought
some back from Egypt. They were
known to the ancients, and highly valued
by them. Alc2sthenes of Sybaris pos
sessed one which af;erward became
lIle property OF DlOnysiuS of Syracuse,
who sold it to the Carthaginians
for more than 100000. The word
shawl comes from the Arab Schal,
which has The same signification.
Brocaden takes its name from the
French word 6rOcher, which means to
weave with metal threads.
" Alpaca" is the name of particular
breed of goats
Lasting" $50 called from it's endur
ing qualities.
" Pique" is from the French, and means
to quilt" 1t is so termed because it
was at tirst made from two thicknesses
OF stuff stitched together in patterns.
Carpet" is derived from the Latin
cd1pere (to weaVe).
" Drugget" comes from drug, and in
dicates n common fabric not worth