muslin
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of muslin
1600–10; < French mousseline < Italian mussolina, equivalent to Mussol ( o ) Mosul, Iraq (where first made) + -ina -ine 1
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Explanation
Muslin is a kind of cotton fabric that's plain and lightweight. Designers and dressmakers often use muslin to make inexpensive sample garments for fitting. Perfecting designs using muslin is so common that the practice garment itself is often referred to as a muslin: "Here, try on this muslin before we cut the pattern out of the silk." The word muslin comes from the French mousseline, which is rooted in Mosul, the city in Iraq where Western traders first encountered the fabric. This ancient muslin was a luxurious material, while today's is much more ordinary and affordable.
Vocabulary lists containing muslin
Lyddie
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"The Little Mermaid" by Hans Christian Andersen
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Prairie Lotus
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The "denim" was not denim at all, but silk muslin, printed and constructed to mimic it - a detail later noted by fashion websites.
From BBC ● May 9, 2026
Tucked into a pocket, the muslin pouch has kept my wool winter overcoat smelling fresh—and reminding me of Paris—all season.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 14, 2026
With stars from Nicole Kidman to Dua Lipa looking on, the first outfits made abundant use of sheer silk muslin alongside Chanel tweeds before the arrival of more whimsical, avian-inspired styles.
From Barron's ● Jan. 27, 2026
This wasn’t quite the little white empire-line muslin dress familiar from Jane Austen costume dramas, but it was heading that way from the exoskeleton corsetry of the ancien régime.
From Slate ● Jul. 21, 2025
Many of the fabrics that we know of today came to Europe via the Muslims, and their names still show their origins: damask from Damascus, muslin from Mosul, gauzes from Gaza.
From "Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science" by Marc Aronson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
