fustian

[ fuhs-chuhn ]

noun

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 meager plot.

   Synonyms: claptrap, rant, bombast

adjective

1. made of fustian:

   a fustian coat;

   fustian bed linen.

2. pompous or bombastic, as language:

   fustian melodrama.

3. worthless; cheap:

   fustian knaves and dupes.

fustian

/ ˈfʌstɪən /

noun

1. 1. a hard-wearing fabric of cotton mixed with flax or wool with a slight nap
   2. ( as modifier )

      a fustian jacket

2. pompous or pretentious talk or writing

adjective

1. cheap; worthless
2. pompous; bombastic

Word History and Origins

Origin of fustian¹

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English, fustian, fustain, fustein, from Old French fustai(g)ne, from Medieval Latin fūstāneum, fūstiānum, fūstānum, perhaps a derivative of Latin fūstis “stick, cudgel,” used as a loan translation of Greek (Septuagint) xýlina lína “cotton,” literally, “wood linen” ” (the cotton plant is woody, unlike flax, the source of linen); Fostat, a suburb of Cairo, where fustian was manufactured, has also been proposed as the source of fūstāneum

Word History and Origins

Origin of fustian¹

C12: from Old French fustaigne , from Medieval Latin fustāneum , from Latin fustis cudgel

Example Sentences

"A major effect of junk politics — its ceaseless flood of patriotic, religious, macho and therapeutic fustian — is to pull position after position loose from reasoned foundations," DeMott noted.

From Salon

The farthingale sleeve is made from a thick cotton material called fustian, stitched with 14 casings of linen each containing a hoop of baleen, also known as whalebone.

From BBC

Welles’ “Macbeth,” while historically important for its bold auteur stamp, is similarly held back by theatrical fustian and bombast.

From Los Angeles Times

Yet, although Mantel adopts none of the archaic fustian of so many historical novels — the capital letters, the antique turns of phrase — her book feels firmly fixed in the 16th century.

From New York Times

And in due course, too, some lovely portrayals take fuller shape, of the adult students in the school and of the family of their headmaster, Hugh, played with authentically fustian authority by Bradley Armacost.

From Washington Post