Ruchings

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A decorative trimming made from gathered fabric or lace, often used in garments and home decor
2. A technique in sewing where fabric is gathered to create a ruffled effect for aesthetic purposes
3. Strips of pleated or gathered material used to enhance the visual appeal of clothing and accessories

Etymology: "Ruchings" is the plural of "ruching," a noun for gathered fabric trimmings. The root goes back to a Gaulish word, "rūscabor," which was borrowed into Early Medieval Latin as "rusca," meaning bark or rind, and passed into Old French as "rusche" (later "ruche," meaning beehive, because a skep resembles a pleated bell of fabric). The sense of pleated or folded material came from that same comparison: the ridged, overlapping folds of a ruche looked like the rings of a beehive. English adopted "ruche" as a term for a pleated frill, probably through French, and then added the suffix "-ing" to form "ruching," the gathered or pleated work itself. The plural "ruchings" refers to several such strips of trimming.