Fabric-related Words

I've just started a new book,  The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock, by Imogen Hermes Gowar.  I've learned a new fabric-related word: fustian.  Perhaps you already knew the definition, but I had to look it up.

fustian: (1) a sturdy fabric of cotton and flax AND (2) an inflated or turgid language in writing or speaking.

Isn't that fascinating?  It seems, to me at least, incongruous that a word used to describe something sturdy and plain in one definition, could also be used to describe another something that is flowery and insipid.

Language is so cool.  And confusing.  No wonder English is hard to learn for non-native speakers.


I think I'm going to start keeping track here of some of the new words I've learned each month.  If nothing else, it will help me to review them if I ever need to be reminded of a fancy word for goose bumps (horripilation, in case you're curious).