fustian

[ fuhs-chuhn ]
/ ˈfʌs tʃən /

noun

a stout fabric of cotton and flax.
a fabric of stout twilled cotton or of cotton and low-quality wool, with a short nap or pile.
inflated or turgid language in writing or speaking: Fustian can't disguise the author's meager plot.

adjective

made of fustian: a fustian coat; fustian bed linen.
pompous or bombastic, as language: fustian melodrama.
worthless; cheap: fustian knaves and dupes.

Origin of fustian

1150–1200; Middle English < Old French fustaigne < Medieval Latin fūstāneum, perhaps a derivative of Latin fūstis stick, cudgel (Late Latin: trunk; cf. fusty), if a translation of Latin xylinus, Greek (Septuagint) xýlina lína cotton, literally, linen from wood; Fostat, a suburb of Cairo, has also been proposed as the source of fūstāneum

Words nearby fustian

Example sentences from the Web for fustian

British Dictionary definitions for fustian

fustian
/ (ˈfʌstɪən) /

noun

  1. a hard-wearing fabric of cotton mixed with flax or wool with a slight nap
  2. (as modifier)a fustian jacket
pompous or pretentious talk or writing

adjective

cheap; worthless
pompous; bombastic

Word Origin for fustian

C12: from Old French fustaigne, from Medieval Latin fustāneum, from Latin fustis cudgel