Word.ws English Dictionary

linsey-woolseys

linsey-woolseys is the plural of linsey-woolsey.

Meaning of linsey-woolsey

Noun

linsey-woolsey (countable and uncountable, plural linsey-woolseys)

  1. A fabric made of both linen and wool.
    • I had as lieue haue no ſunne, as haue it ſhine faintly, no fire, as a ſmothering fire of ſmall coales, no cloathes, rather then vveare linſey vvolſey.1599, [Thomas] Nashe, “To His Readers, Hee Cares Not What They Be”, in Nashes Lenten Stuffe, […], London: […] [Thomas Judson and Valentine Simmes] for N[icholas] L[ing] and C[uthbert] B[urby] […]...
    Synonyms:
    shatnez, wincey, woolsey
  2. (archaic, figuratively) Worthless material; nonsense; gibberish.
    • [W]hat linsey-woolsey hast thou to speak […]c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...

See all 3 meanings of linsey-woolsey

Questions about linsey-woolseys

What is linsey-woolseys the plural of?
Linsey-woolseys is the plural of linsey-woolsey.

Words near linsey-woolseys in the dictionary

  1. linseed oils
  2. linseeds
  3. Linses
  4. linsey
  5. linsey-woolsey
  6. linsey-woolseys
  7. linseys
  8. linseywoolsey
  9. linseywoolseys
  10. linsheng
  11. linsidomine

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: linsey-woolseys (page history and authors); linsey-woolsey (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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