ProbableNamed through a historical place-name
Canton flannel
noun · first attested 19th century
Canton is Guangzhou; the cloth was named for the port, not a mill there.
A stout cotton cloth with a soft napped fiber on one face and a twill weave on the other.
Guangzhou·People's Republic of China
23.1300°N 113.2600°E · Q16572
Record
- Relationship
- Named through a historical place-name
- Confidence
- ProbableThe conventional story is likely, with caveats.
- Attested
- 19th century
- Part of speech
- noun
Explanations here are written for this atlas. Dictionary text is not copied; the sources are linked so the claim can be checked.
- Step 1
Guangzhou
- In English
Canton flannel
Canton was the single port through which Western traders dealt with China for much of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, so its name attached itself to many goods that passed through. The flannel was soon woven in American and European mills, keeping the name long after the trade route stopped mattering.
People's Republic of China
All 21 entries 20 more words from People's Republic of China
cashmereThe wool is Kashmir, spelled the old English way.KashmirshanghaiThe verb is named for a port, not for a method invented there alone.ShanghaichinaThe teacup is named for the country that made porcelain famous in Europe.JingdezhenkaolinThe clay behind porcelain is named for a hill in Jiangxi.JingdezhennankeenThe yellow cotton is named for Nanjing.NanjingXanaduThe dream palace was a real Mongol capital.ShangdusatinThe cloth is usually traced to a Chinese port's Arabic name.QuanzhouPeking duckThe dish carries the older English spelling of Beijing.Beijing