adjective / noun
ingrain
Textile material with color dyed into its fibers before weaving.
This ingrain fabric gets its color from yarn dyed before weaving.
Etymology
Grain once referred to a durable red dye made from scale insects. Dyed in grain meant thoroughly dyed before manufacture, leading to the textile sense of color worked into the fibers.
More examples
- The weaver orders blue ingrain for her next rug.
- The mill dyes the wool before weaving it into ingrain.
- The label identifies the upholstery as ingrain fabric.
Forms
ingrain · ingrains
Similar words
- yarn-dyed
- Specifies yarn colored before weaving, rather than loose fibers.
- stock-dyed
- Specifies loose fibers colored before being spun into yarn.