Linters

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of short fiber that is often removed from cotton seeds during processing, serving as raw material for making absorbent products
2. Waste fibers separated from cotton when ginning, commonly used in the production of insulation or stuffing materials
3. The fine, fuzzy fibers found on cottonseed after harvesting, which can be utilized in various industrial applications such as textiles and composites

Etymology: "Linters" is the plural of "linter," a noun that names the short, fuzzy fibers left clinging to cottonseed after the long fibers have been removed at the gin. The word is built simply from "lint," a textile fibre or the fluff that gathers on fabric, with the suffix "-er" added. That suffix is one of several English "-er" endings whose origins run back through Latin "-arius" and Old French "-ier" before reaching English. Because the base word is "lint," the same fluff that collects in a clothes dryer, "linter" is essentially a more specialized relative of that everyday substance. Its plural form, "linters," is the usual way the term appears in trade and industrial contexts, where the material is handled in bulk.