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| A linen handkerchief with drawn thread work around the edges. |
Linen is a textile made from the fibers
of the flax plant, Linum usitatissimum. Linen is laborious to
manufacture, but garments made of it are valued for exceptional coolness and
freshness in hot weather.
Many products are made of
linen: aprons, bags, towels (swimming, bath, beach, body and wash towels),
napkins, bed linens, tablecloths, runners, chair covers, and men's &
women's wear.
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Details of the flax plant,
from which linen fibers are derived.
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The word "linen"
is of West Germanic origin and cognate to the Latin name for the flax plant linum,
and the earlier Greek (linon). This word history has given rise to a
number of other terms in English, most notably line, from the use of a
linen (flax) thread to determine a straight line.
Textiles in a linen weave
texture, even when made of cotton, hemp and other non-flax fibers, are also
loosely referred to as "linen". Such fabrics generally have their own
specific names also, for example fine cotton yarn in a linen-style weave is
called Madapolam.
