Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·French ·1690s
Denim
from serge de Nîmes
- Meaning
- A sturdy twilled cotton fabric, typically blue.
- Source word
- serge de Nîmes
- Route into English
- French *serge de Nîmes* (serge from the city of Nîmes) → contracted to *denim* in English → then exported back worldwide via American blue jeans. "Jean" similarly comes from "Genoa."
- Arrived
- 1690s
From French
Beyond the Norman conquest's Old French foundation, English kept borrowing from French for art, cuisine, fashion, and diplomacy throughout the modern period.
English borrows.
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