burlap

Meaning

Noun

A very strong, coarse cloth, made from jute, flax, or hemp, and used to make sacks, etc.

Verb

To wrap or cover in burlap.

Synonyms

hessian

gunny

sackcloth

sacking

duck

🦆

pack cloth

sack cloth

hessian linen

bagging

gunny cloth

canvas

chat

lint

sack

Translations

arpillera

aniagem

toile

λινάτσα

Sackleinwand

Sackleinen

çuval bezi

tela di sacco

tela

καναβάτσο

xarpellera

toile de jute

kenevirden dokunmuş kumaş

κανναβάτσο

Jute#Toile_de_jute

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈbɝlæp/

Etymology

Cognate with Dutch: boerenkost

Cognate with Dutch: boer

Cognate with English: boor

In summary

Uncertain. Attested since about 1695 in the spelling bore-lap, borelapp. Likely from burel (“a coarse woollen cloth”) + lap (“flap of a garment”), where the first element is from Middle English burel, borel. Others feel that "its character and time of appearance makes a Dutch origin very likely" (and the earliest references as to its importation from the Netherlands); the NED suggests derivation from Dutch boenlap (“coarse, rubbing linen or cloth”) with the first element perhaps confused with boer (“farmer, peasant”). Bense similarly suggests derivation from an unattested Dutch *boerenlap, where boeren would be used in the sense of “coarse” as in boerenkost (“coarse, heavy food as is eaten by farmers”) or boerenpraat (“coarse, rural speech”).