Words / B2

LIN-in/ˈlɪnɪn/

Linen is cloth from flax, or household sheets and tablecloths (bed linen, often uncountable): hospital linen; Irish linen. Cotton is a different fibre; sheets is the everyday bed word. Ward linen is logged out. Mix-up: lining is an inner layer (next entries’ family); linseed is flax seed. Do not write “a linen” for one tea towel.

Meaning

Cloth made from flax; also sheets and tablecloths as a set (bed linen).

Examples

• “Hospital linen is logged out of the ward, the infection-control note said.”
• “The costume was linen, not polyester, which is the fibre sense.”

Good to know

bed / table / hospital linen; Irish linen. Everyday bed: sheets. Trap: lining. Health, DT, and literature. Flax cloth or household textiles, usually uncountable.

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