Linen hidden in our vocabulary

Today I ended up watching a video about Linoleum. In it, they mentioned that linoleum was made from rubbery dried linseed oil, and it got it's name from "a combination of the Latin names for flax and oil." And a little lightbulb went off in my head.

I thought, "What if the reason we have different names for flax and linen is because of that Norman invasion bringing French/latin names for the processed derivitive of the thing, and leaving the Germanic term for the thing itself." Like "pork" is the French word for pig. We use it for the FOOD, because the nobility would be eating it. But we use "pig" for the animal, because the Anglo-saxon famers kept calling the animal what they'd always called it. The same goes for "beef" vs "cow" and "venison" vs deer, etc. Farmers would be growing "flax" and calling it what they'd always called it. But, the nobility would call the fabric their French name for it.

I had to go use the trusty Oxford English Dictionary to see if flax was Germanic. And, Lo and behold, "flax" is Germanic, just like linen is French.

And, in the course of this, I spotted a crazy amount of words I didn't realize came from linen, and some I did.

Linoleum--the floring made from flax/linen oil.

Lint- Literally the word for flax fibers before they're spun into yarn/thread. Like "roving" is for wool, lint used to be for linen!

Linseed - The oil made from flax/linen seeds

Lingerie- ""linen underwear, especially as made for women," from French lingerie "linen goods, things made of linen,"

Line - ""to cover the inner side of" (clothes, garments, etc.), late 14c., from Old English lin "linen cloth""

Line - "a Middle English merger of Old English line "cable, rope; series, row, row of letters; rule, direction," and Old French ligne "guideline, cord, string; lineage, descent" (12c.), both from Latin linea "linen thread, string, plumb-line," also "a mark, bound, limit, goal; line of descent," short for linea restis "linen cord," and similar phrases, from fem. of lineus (adj.) "of linen," from linum "linen"

Linnet - "small finch-like Eurasian songbird, 1530s, from French linette "grain of flax," diminutive of lin "flax," from Latin linum "flax, linen thread" (see linen). Flaxseed forms much of the bird's diet."

lLinament - ""lint rolled and used for dressing wounds," 1620s, from Latin linamentum "linen stuff,""

Crinoline - "stiff material originally made partly or wholly of horsehair, 1830, from French crinoline "hair cloth" (19c.), from Italian crinolino, from crino "horsehair" (from Latin crinis "hair," from PIE root *sker- (2) "to turn, bend") + lino "flax, thread," from Latin linum (see linen)"

I find it all rather crazy. Most everything with a "lin" in it seems to come from linen, in so many ways that I would not have expected. I always figured linoleum was plastic...but no, it was made from flax/linen!

Wow that is fascinating! I love mentally curating stuff like this; I think about linguistics a lot.

...linguistics...lin-guistics....hmm....

Nicole Alderman wrote:I find it all rather crazy. Most everything with a "lin" in it seems to come from linen, in so many ways that I would not have expected. I always figured linoleum was plastic...but no, it was made from flax/linen!

I'm pretty sure that "linoleum" predated plastics.

From Wiki:

Linoleum is a floor covering made from materials such as solidified linseed oil (linoxyn), pine resin, ground cork dust, sawdust, and mineral fillers such as calcium carbonate, most commonly on a burlap or canvas backing. Pigments are often added to the materials to create the desired colour finish. Commercially, the material has been largely replaced by sheet vinyl flooring, although in the UK and Australia this is often still referred to as "lino"... Linoleum was invented by Englishman Frederick Walton.[3] In 1855[1]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linoleum

Plastics didn't take off until the 1950's.

I wonder if there are non-toxic ways to reproduce a useful version of Linoleum. I didn't have time to read the entire Wiki, but I have heard in the past that real linoleum lasted far longer and better than modern plastic flooring. I recall also, that linseed oil is one of the oils some people use to finish cob floors to make them a bit waterproof and longer lasting.

When I was kid we made linocuts for printing, few times. Carved into scraps of linoleum.

Nicole wrote: What if the reason we have different names for flax and linen is because of that Norman invasion bringing French/latin names for the processed derivitive of the thing, and leaving the Germanic term for the thing itself."

You should check out the etymology of "tea", and why the are basically only two variations of name for it worldwide. Very interesting.

Jay Angler wrote:Plastics didn't take off until the 1950's.

Didn't Bakelite predate the Depression? That stuff was everywhere.

The word plastic predates petroleum based plastics.   It was a generic reshapable substance and a verb.  Horn would be a common plastic because it could be wet, heated, put in a press and turned into a shape like a spoon and would stay that shape until it got hot and wet again. (Hint, this isn't a soup spoon)

Marketing in the 20th century narrowed down the meaning to specifically sourced polymers. Like bleach means chlorine in the USA but still means a substance that makes things white (including the light from the sun) in much of the English speaking world.

It's crazy how much of our language is influenced by the economy.   When flax was the main source of cellulose clothing in England,  so many words and phrases became common, although with regional variation.

My favourites

Flaxen haired maiden (when flax is ready to spin, the most desirable fibre is a yard or more long with organised golden fibre like hair. )

Tow headded boy (tow is messy, shorter fibre for spinning rough cloth)

Rebecca Norman wrote:When I was kid we made linocuts for printing, few times. Carved into scraps of linoleum.

And now linseed oil is ending up on the printed page......literally!  >>>
 
http://www.theprintinginkcompany.ca/sustainability#:~:text=At%20The%20Printing%20Ink%20Company,film%20than%20soya%2Dbased%20vehicles.