Crinoline

crin'o-lin, a stiff lining fabric composed of horsehair and linen. The name is derived from the Latin words crines, hair, and linum, flax. The so-called crinoline of the present day is made frequently of coarse cotton yarns. In finishing, the fabric is heavily sized to take the place of the natural stiffness of the horsehair fabric. Crinoline was first used about the middle of the nineteenth century to stiffen women's skirts. When the fashion of expanding the skirts grew to the exaggeration that demanded hoops or hoop skirts, the word crinoline was retained in the phrase "wearing crinolines," which implied the wearing of hoops.