Denims

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of sturdy fabric typically made from cotton, often used to make jeans and other clothing
2. Material characterized by a twill weave, usually dyed blue for casual wear items
3. A textile associated with durable, fashionable garments, commonly worn in everyday settings

Etymology: Denim is named for the French town of Nîmes, in southern France, where a sturdy twilled cloth was made. The English name is a shortening of the phrase "serge de Nîmes," meaning "serge of Nîmes," where serge is a twilled wool fabric. Over time the place-name part was dropped and the word became "denim," first recorded in English in the 1690s. The "s" on "denims" is not a plural of the fabric but reflects the later use of the word for garments made from it, most commonly jeans, which are usually called "denims" in the plural. The blue colour came later. The original Nîmes cloth was not necessarily blue, and the indigo dyeing associated with the modern fabric developed in the 19th century, when American makers such as those producing for the Levi Strauss company used it for workwear, helping fix the association between denim and blue.

Synonyms: jeans, fabric