worsted

1) A woollen fabric made from well-twisted yarn spun of long-staple wool, combed to lay the fibres parallel. Examples from 1296 confirm the derivation from the village of Worstead in Norfolk (OED).

In Yorkshire, the evidence dates from the early fourteenth century, and John Lister considered that ‘worsted beds’ was really a reference to blankets: 1310 sayes of Worstede

1347 mon vieil lit d rouge worstede

1401 ‘1 piece of wersted’, Hull

1455 vj qwisshyns de viridi et albo worsett, Wighill

1561 ij hodes lined with wyrsett vjs viijd, Richmond

1720 put six pounds of worset to spin to Mary Clough of Horton, Bradford

1741 a pair of worstit hose, Kirkburton

1755 dyed worstit yarn, Pudsey. It gave rise to a rare occupational name: 1805 George Saynor, worsiter, Thornhill.

dates 1310 1347 1401 1455 1561 1720 1741 1755 1805

Related Content Loading...

Photo by Kreuzschnabel CC BY-SA 3.0