Standard Lemma guide

muslin

noun · 8 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈmʌz.lɪn/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: M AH1 Z L AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Any of several varieties of thin cotton cloth.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

Qualifier: textile

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Fabric made of cotton, flax (linen), hemp, or silk, finely or coarsely woven.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: US, uncountable, usually

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

Any of a wide variety of tightly-woven thin fabrics, especially those used for bedlinen.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

Woven cotton or linen fabrics, especially when used for items other than garments.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: US, uncountable, usually

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

A dressmaker's pattern made from inexpensive cloth for fitting.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, usually

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

Any of several different moths, especially the muslin moth, Diaphora mendica.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

Woman as sex object; prostitute, as in a bit of muslin.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

noun

Meaning 8

plain-woven cotton fabric

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: fabric, cloth, material, textile

Narrower terms: nainsook, organdy, organdie

History

Etymology

From French mousseline, from Italian mussolina, from Mussolo (“Mosul”), that is Mosul in northern Iraq (compare 1875 Knight, Edward H., Knight's American Mechanical Dictionary, V2 p1502: "Muslins are so called from Moussol in India."). Doublet of mousseline.

Across languages

Translations

38 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: مَوْصِلِيّ (mawṣiliyy) — thin cotton cloth
  • Arabic: شاش (šāš) — thin cotton cloth
  • Bulgarian: муселин (muselin) — thin cotton cloth
  • Czech: mušelín — thin cotton cloth
  • Dutch: mousseline — thin cotton cloth
  • Esperanto: muslino — thin cotton cloth
  • Finnish: musliini — thin cotton cloth
  • French: mousseline — thin cotton cloth
  • Georgian: ნანსუკი (nansuḳi) — thin cotton cloth
  • German: Musselin — thin cotton cloth
  • Greek: μουσελίνα (mouselína) — thin cotton cloth
  • Hindi: मलमल (malmal) — thin cotton cloth
  • Irish: muislín — thin cotton cloth
  • Italian: mussola — thin cotton cloth
  • Japanese: モスリン — thin cotton cloth
  • Japanese: 毛斯綸 (mosurin) — thin cotton cloth
  • Japanese: モス (mosu) — thin cotton cloth
  • Japanese: メリンス (merinsu) — thin cotton cloth
  • Japanese: 唐縮緬 (tōchirimen) — thin cotton cloth
  • Norman: mousselinne — thin cotton cloth
  • Norwegian Bokmål: musselin — thin cotton cloth
  • Polish: muślin — thin cotton cloth
  • Portuguese: musselina — thin cotton cloth
  • Romanian: muselină — thin cotton cloth
  • Romanian: muselin — thin cotton cloth
  • Romanian: muslin — thin cotton cloth
  • Russian: мусли́н (muslín) — thin cotton cloth
  • Serbo-Croatian: муслин — thin cotton cloth
  • Serbo-Croatian: muslin — thin cotton cloth
  • Spanish: muselina — thin cotton cloth
  • Tagalog: muselina — thin cotton cloth
  • Ottoman Turkish: دلبند (dülbend) — thin cotton cloth
  • Arabic: مَوْصِلِيّ (mawṣiliyy) — thin fabric used for bedlinen
  • Bulgarian: хасе (hase) — thin fabric used for bedlinen
  • Finnish: lakanakangas — thin fabric used for bedlinen
  • Arabic: مَوْصِلِيّ (mawṣiliyy) — dressmaker's pattern
  • Finnish: sovitusmalli — dressmaker's pattern
  • Finnish: hukkasiilikäs — moth