Muslin

a general name for plain-woven cotton cloth. The name is derived from the French mousseline, which, in turn, is thought to be from the name of the Turkish city Mosul. Like many other cotton goods, muslin originated in India. The India muslins, light, airy and fine, were introduced into Europe during the seventeenth century. Until the invention of the mule-jenny the cotton yarns spun in England were of too coarse a grade to produce satisfactory muslins. With the mule-jenny finer yarns were spun, and, by 1793, English muslins were produced equal to those imported from India. Until the latter half of the nineteenth century the word muslin denoted specifically a thin, light, semi-transparent fabric, such as is now designated by the word lawn. At present muslin, as commonly used, denotes a strong, close-woven fabric, put out both bleached and unbleached, used for underwear and a variety of domestic purposes. See Spinning; Cotton