flannel

[ flan-l ]

noun

1. a soft, slightly napped fabric of wool or wool and another fiber, used for trousers, jackets, shirts, etc.
2. a soft, warm, light fabric of cotton or cotton and another fiber, thickly napped on one side and used for sleepwear, undergarments, sheets, etc.
3. flannels,
   1. an outer garment, especially trousers, made of flannel.
   2. woolen undergarments.
4. British.
   1. a washcloth.
   2. Informal. nonsense; humbug; empty talk.
   3. Informal. flattery; insincere or overdone praise.

verb (used with object)

, flan·neled, flan·nel·ing or (especially British,) flan·nelled, flan·nel·ling.

1. to cover or clothe with flannel.
2. to rub with flannel.

flannel

/ ˈflænəl /

noun

1. a soft light woollen fabric with a slight nap, used for clothing
2. plural trousers or other garments made of flannel
3. See cotton flannel
4. a small piece of cloth used to wash the face and hands; face cloth US and Canadian equivalentwashcloth
5. informal.
   indirect or evasive talk; deceiving flattery

verb

1. to cover or wrap with flannel
2. to rub, clean, or polish with flannel
3. informal.
   to talk evasively to; flatter in order to mislead

Derived Forms

• ˈflannelly, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of flannel¹

1300–50; Middle English flaunneol, perhaps dissimilated variant of flanyn sackcloth < Welsh; compare Welsh gwlanen woolen article, equivalent to gwlân wool (akin to Latin lāna ) + -en suffix denoting a single item (as a piece of a mass noun or singular of a collective plural)

Word History and Origins

Origin of flannel¹

C14: probably variant of flanen sackcloth, from Welsh gwlanen woollen fabric, from gwlân wool

Example Sentences

In a picture probably from the late 1940s he wears a flannel shirt tucked into trousers.

From Salon

An ability to look devastatingly handsome in flannel.

From Los Angeles Times

Jeremy Allen White has swapped his white chef’s coat for a leather jacket and flannel to portray one of rock’s most iconic musicians, Bruce Springsteen.

From Salon

He instead stuck to his talking points about Walz being "Gavin Newsom in a flannel shirt" and Trump as the guy who "fixed the country then Biden and Harris broke it and he's going to fix it again."

From Salon

Acres of terraced growing areas and multiple greenhouses produced many native plants grown from seed collected around the park such as sumacs, ceanothus, yellow-blooming flannel bush, manzanitas, barberries, monkeyflowers, Catalina cherry, toyon and coffeeberry.

From Los Angeles Times