SERGE
(serj)
A
twilled cloth often used for suits Common
clues: Twilled
fabric; Woolen fabric; Worsted fabric; Suit material; “Suit-able”
material?; Ribbed twill Crossword
puzzle frequency:
once a year Frequency
in English language:
20261 / 86800
Serge
is a type of twill fabric that has diagonal lines or ridges on
both sides, made with a two-up, two-down weave. The worsted
variety is used in making military uniforms, suits, great and
trench coats. Its counterpart, silk serge, is used for linings.
French serge is a softer, finer variety. The word is also used
for a high quality woolen woven.
A
twill weave can easily be identified by its diagonal lines. This
is 2/2 twill, with two warp threads crossing every two weft
threads.
The
name is derived from French serge, itself from Latin serica, from
Greek σηρικος (serikos),
meaning "silken". The early association of silk serge,
Greece, and France is shown by the discovery in Charlemagne's
tomb of a piece of silk serge dyed with Byzantine motifs,
evidently a gift from the Byzantine Imperial Court in the 8th or
9th century AD.
From
early Saxon times, most English wool ("staples") was
exported. In the early sixteenth century it went mainly to a
Royal monopoly at Calais (then an English possession) and was
woven into cloth in France or the Low Countries. However, with
the capture of Calais by the French on 7 January 1558, England
began expanding its own weaving industry. This was greatly
enhanced by the European Wars of Religion (Eighty Years' War,
French Wars of Religion); in 1567 Calvinist refugees from the Low
Countries included many skilled serge weavers, while Huguenot
refugees in the early eighteenth century included many silk and
linen weavers. Denim is a cotton fabric with a similar weave; its
name is believed to be derived from "serge de Nîmes"
after Nîmes in France.
This
article is licensed under the GNU
Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia
article "Serge".
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