linen

[ lin-uh n ]
/ ˈlɪn ən /

noun

fabric woven from flax yarns.
Often linens. bedding, tablecloths, shirts, etc., made of linen cloth or a more common substitute, as cotton.
yarn made of flax fiber.
thread made of flax yarns.

adjective

made of linen: a linen jacket.

Idioms for linen

    wash one's dirty linen in public, to discuss in public one's private scandals, disagreements, or difficulties.

Origin of linen

before 900; Middle English lin(n)en (noun, adj.), Old English linnen, līnen (adj.) made of flax, equivalent to līn flax (< Latin līnum; see line2) + -en -en2

OTHER WORDS FROM linen

lin·en·y, adjective half-lin·en, adjective un·der·lin·en, noun

Words nearby linen

linecaster, linecasting, lineker, lineman, lineman's pliers, linen, linen closet, linen draper, linen panel, linen paper, linenfold

British Dictionary definitions for wash one's dirty linen in public

linen
/ (ˈlɪnɪn) /

noun

  1. a hard-wearing fabric woven from the spun fibres of flax
  2. (as modifier)a linen tablecloth
yarn or thread spun from flax fibre
clothes, sheets, tablecloths, etc, made from linen cloth or from a substitute such as cotton
See linen paper

Word Origin for linen

Old English linnen, ultimately from Latin līnum flax, line ²

Idioms and Phrases with wash one's dirty linen in public (1 of 2)

wash one's dirty linen in public

Also air one's dirty linen or laundry. Expose private matters to public view, especially unsavory secrets. These metaphors are reworkings of a French proverb, Il faut laver son linge sale en famille (“One should wash one's dirty linen at home”), which was quoted by Napoleon on his return from Elba (1815). It was first recorded in English in 1867.

Idioms and Phrases with wash one's dirty linen in public (2 of 2)

linen

see wash one's dirty linen in public.