Word.ws English Dictionary

fustian

Syllables: fust·i·an/ˈfʌs.tɪ.ən//ˈfʌs.t͡ʃən/

fustian noun: originally, a kind of coarse fabric made from cotton and flax; now, a kind of coarse twilled cotton, or cotton and linen, stuff with a short pile and often dyed a dull colour, which is chiefly prepared for menswear.

fustian: originally, a kind of coarse fabric made from cotton and flax; now, a kind of coarse twilled...
Image: Neitram, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

fustian (usually uncountable, plural fustians)

  1. (usually) Originally, a kind of coarse fabric made from cotton and flax; now, a kind of coarse twilled cotton, or cotton and linen, stuff with a short pile and often dyed a dull colour, which is chiefly prepared for menswear.
    • VVWhere's the Cooke, is ſupper ready, the houſe trim'd, ruſhes ſtrevv'd, cobvvebs ſvvept, the ſeruingmen in their nevv fuſtian, their vvhite ſtockings, and euery officer his vvedding garment on?c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
    • Fustian, of which I found only one entry before 1401, occurs frequently in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. It appears to have been a ribbed cloth. […] On one occasion (1443) it is described as 'white ribbed fustian.'1882, James E[dwin] Thorold Rogers, “On the Price of Textile Fabrics and Clothing”, in A History of Agriculture and Prices in England […], volumes IV (1401–1582), Oxford, Oxfordshire: Clarendon...
  2. (usually) A class of fabric including corduroy and velveteen.
    • Fustian is a species of coarse twilled cotton, but may be considered as a general term which comprehends several varieties of cotton fabrics, as corduroy, jean, velveret, velveteen, thickset, thickset cord, and other stout cloths for men's wearing apparel; from their strength and cheapness, they...1855, T[homas] Webster, Mrs. [William] Parkes, “Book XVII. On the Various Textile Fabrics for Clothing and Furniture.”, in D[avid] M[eredith] Reese, editor, An Encyclopædia of Domestic Economy: […]...
    • Fustian originally referred to a large variety of textiles of linen-and-cotton blend; later it came to mean all-cotton textiles. Common varieties of the fancy fustians are corduroy, jean, pillow, thickset, velveret and velveteen.1986 fall (June), Richard Henning Field, “Lunenberg-German Household Textiles: The Evidence from Lunenburg County Estate Inventories, 1780–1830”, in Material History Bulletin = Bulletin d’histoire de...
  3. (figuratively, usually) Inflated, pompous, or pretentious speech or writing; bombast; also (archaic), incoherent or unintelligible speech or writing; gibberish, nonsense.
    • Wag[ner]. Vilaine, call me Maiſter Wagner, and let thy left eye be diametarily fixt vpon my right heele, with quaſi veſtigias nostras inſistere [as if to follow in our footsteps]. / Clo[wn]: God forgiue me, he ſpeakes Dutch fuſtian: / well, Ile folow him, Ile ſerue him, thats flat.1589–1592 (date written), Ch[ristopher] Marl[owe], The Tragicall History of D. Faustus. […], London: […] V[alentine] S[immes] for Thomas Bushell, published 1604, →OCLC, signature [B4], recto
    • Monſieur Orenge, yond' Gallants obſerues vs; pr'y thee let's talke Fuſtian a little and gull 'hem: make 'hem beleeue vve are great Schollers.1599 (first performance), B. I. [i.e., Ben Jonson], The Comicall Satyre of Euery Man out of His Humor. […], London: […] [Adam Islip] for William Holme, […], published 1600, →OCLC, Act III, scene i...
  4. (archaic, usually, alcoholic beverages) Chiefly in rum fustian: a hot drink made of a mixture of alcoholic beverages (as beer, gin, and sherry or white wine) with egg yolk, lemon, and spices.
    • RUMFUSTIAN. The yolks of twelve eggs, one quart of strong beer, one bottle of white wine, half a pint of gin, a grated nutmeg, the juice from the peeling of a lemon, a small quantity of cinnamon, and sufficient sugar to sweeten it;[…][1827, [Richard Cook], “RUMFUSTIAN”, in Oxford Night Caps. Being a Collection of Receipts for Making Various Beverages Used in the University, Oxford, Oxfordshire; London: […] Henry Slatter; and...
    • Rum Fustian is a "night-cap" made precisely in the same way as the preceding [egg-posset or egg-flip], with the yolks of twelve eggs, a quart of strong home-brewed beer, a bottle of white wine, half-a-pint of gin, a grated nutmeg, the juice from the peel of a lemon, a small quantity of cinnamon...1832, William Hone, “January 9”, in The Year Book of Daily Recreation and Information, […], London: […] [J. Haddon] for Thomas Tegg, […], →OCLC, column 62

Adjective

fustian (comparative more fustian, superlative most fustian)

  1. Made out of fustian (noun sense 1).
    • I was never ſo ſplenetique, when I was moſt dumpiſh, but I could ſmile at a friſe jeſt, when the good man would be pleaſurable, and laugh at fuſtion earneſt, when the merry man would be ſurly.1593, Gabriell Haruey [i.e., Gabriel Harvey], Pierces Supererogation: Or A New Prayse of the Old Asse. A Preparative to Certaine Larger Discourses, Intituled Nashes S. Fame, London: […] Iohn Wolfe...
    • For my clothes being but a threed-bare fuſtian caſe vvere ſo meane (my cloake onely excepted) that the Boores could not haue made an ordinary ſupper vvith the mony for vvᶜʰ they ſhould haue ſold them; […]1611, Thomas Coryate [i.e., Thomas Coryat], “My Obseruations of Argentina or Argentoratum, Commonly Called Strasbourg the Metropolitan City of Alsatia”, in Coryats Crudities Hastily Gobled Vp in Five...
  2. Of a person, or their speech or writing: using inflated, pompous, or pretentious language; bombastic; grandiloquent; also (obsolete) using incoherent or unintelligible language.
    • Monélle, a roguiſh or fustian word, a word in pedlers French, ſignifying wenches, ſtrumpets or whores.1598, John Florio, “Monélle”, in A Worlde of Words, or Most Copious, and Exact Dictionarie in Italian and English, […], London: […] Arnold Hatfield for Edw[ard] Blount, →OCLC, page 231, column 1
    • Svb[tle]. VVhy, you muſt entertaine him. Fac[e]. VVhat'll you doe / VVith theſe the vvhile? Svb. VVhy, haue 'hem vp, and ſhew 'hem / Some Fuſtian Booke, or the Darke Glaſſe.1610 (first performance), Ben[jamin] Jonson, The Alchemist, London: […] Thomas Snodham, for Walter Burre, and are to be sold by Iohn Stepneth, […], published 1612, →OCLC, Act IV, scene ii
  3. (obsolete) Imaginary; invented.
    • [T]he Scene, Gargaphie: vvhich I doe vehemently ſuſpect for ſome fuſtian countrie, but let that vaniſh.1600 (first performance), Beniamin Ionson [i.e., Ben Jonson], “Cynthias Reuels, or The Fountayne of Selfe-Loue. […]. [Induction. By Three of the Children.]”, in The Workes of Beniamin Ionson (First...
  4. (obsolete) Useless; worthless.
    • Hard to make ought of that is nakid nought; / This fustiane maistres and this giggisse gase, / Wonder is to wryte what wrenchis she wrowght, / To face out her foly with a midsomer mase; […]1523, John Skelton, “A Ryght Delectable Tratyse vpon a Goodly Garlande or Chapelet of Laurell, […]”, in Alexander Dyce, editor, The Poetical Works of John Skelton: […], volume I, London: Thomas Rodd...
    • For Gods ſake thruſt him down ſtaires, I cannot indure ſuch a fuſtian raſcall.c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henrie the Fourth, […], quarto edition, London: […] V[alentine] S[immes] for Andrew Wise, and William Aspley, published 1600...

fustian meaning in Arabic and Persian

fustian in Arabic

kind of coarse fabric made from cotton and flax; kind of coarse twilled cotton, or cotton and linen, stuff often dyed a drab colour
فسطاطي

fustian in Persian

kind of coarse fabric made from cotton and flax; kind of coarse twilled cotton, or cotton and linen, stuff often dyed a drab colour
متقال

Examples of fustian in a sentence

  • His clothes were of fustian, and his boots hobnailed, yet in his progress he showed not the mud-accustomed bearing of hobnailed and fustained peasantry.1883 March, Thomas Hardy, “The Three Strangers”, in Wessex Tales: Strange, Lively, and Commonplace […], volume I, London; New York, N.Y....
  • It is generally dyed of an olive, leaden, or other colours. […] Fustians are either plain or twilled.1855, T[homas] Webster, Mrs. [William] Parkes, “Book XVII. On the Various Textile Fabrics for Clothing and Furniture.”, in D[avid]...
  • Fustians, a large group of general-purpose fabrics were mainly woven with a tight heavy texture.2007, Susan M. Ouellette, “Flax from the Field, Cotton from the Sea”, in US Textile Production in Historical Perspective: A Case Study from...
  • In the nineteenth century fustian cutting was a major occupation right across the North West and thousands of people in the cotton towns were employed at it.2008, Steve Haywood, chapter 9, in Narrowboat Dreams: A Journey North by England’s Waterways, Chichester, West Sussex: Summersdale...

Synonyms of fustian

7 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

1 more antonymsFewer antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of fustian

Forms of fustian

Noun
pluralfustians
Adjective
comparativemore fustian
superlativemost fustian

Origin of fustian

The noun is derived from Middle English fustian (“type of fabric, probably made from cotton, flax, or wool; piece of fustian spread over a bed or mattress”) [and other forms], from Old French fustaine, fustaigne (modern French futaine), from Medieval Latin fūstāneum, from (pannus) fūstāneus or (tela) fūstānea, of disputed origin. Sense 3 (“inflated, pompous, or pretentious speech or writing”) is possibly from the fact that the fabric was sometimes used to make cushion- and pillowcases, thus suggesting that the speech or writing is “padded” or “stuffed”; compare bombast. The relationship between sense 4 (“hot drink made of a mixture of alcoholic beverages with egg yolk, lemon, and spices”) and the fabric is unclear. The adjective is from an attributive use of the noun. Cognates * Italian fustagno * Occitan fustani * Portuguese fustão * Spanish fustán

Words formed from fustian

Questions about fustian

What does fustian mean?
Fustian means originally, a kind of coarse fabric made from cotton and flax; now, a kind of coarse twilled cotton, or cotton and linen, stuff with a short pile and often dyed a dull colour, which is chiefly prepared for menswear.
What is fustian in Arabic?
Fustian in Arabic is فسطاطي. See Fustian meaning in Arabic.
How do you use fustian in a sentence?
His clothes were of fustian, and his boots hobnailed, yet in his progress he showed not the mud-accustomed bearing of hobnailed and fustained peasantry.
What part of speech is fustian?
Fustian can be a noun or an adjective.
How do you pronounce fustian?
Fustian is pronounced /ˈfʌs.tɪ.ən/ (UK).
What is the plural of fustian?
The plural of fustian is fustians.

Words near fustian in the dictionary

  1. fusteric
  2. fustering
  3. fusters
  4. fustet
  5. fustets
  6. fustian
  7. fustianed
  8. fustianise
  9. fustianish
  10. fustianism
  11. fustianist

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: fustian (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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