Tarpaulin

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /tɑˈpɔː.lɪn/

Definitions

1. A sturdy sheet of water-resistant fabric is utilized to safeguard items from precipitation and environmental factors while also providing temporary shelter in outdoor situations
2. This resilient covering, typically made of a durable material, functions to protect goods from rain or sunlight, frequently applied in various outdoor applications
3. A heavy-duty, waterproof material used to cover and shield objects from wet weather or dirt

Etymology: Sailors once wore the material that gave this word its name. "Tarpaulin" combines "tar," the sticky pitch used to waterproof wooden ships, with "pall," an old word for a heavy cloth, and the "-ing" ending that turns the result into a noun for a thing made of that cloth. Together they describe canvas coated with tar, and the sense of a seaman in such garments came first: sailors of earlier centuries often wore clothing made of tarred cloth to keep out the weather. The "pall" part has a traceable path of its own. It comes from the Old English "pæll," a rich fabric, and reached English through Latin "pallium," a cloak or covering. Over time the word lost its prestige, and "pall" came to mean a heavy canvas, the sense that the compound preserves. The sea gave the word its original setting, and the sheet meaning followed from it: a tarred cover that kept rain and salt off cargo and rigging is the same job the modern tarpaulin still does.

Synonyms: canvas, cover, sheet