corduroy means of a road, path, etc., paved with split or round logs laid crosswise side by side.
corduroy is pronounced /ˈkɔːdəɹɔɪ/.
Why “corduroy” is a great word
A heavy, durable cotton fabric with a distinctive pattern of parallel raised ribs or cords, its origin uncertain; probably a compound of English 'cord' (for its ribbed appearance) and the now-obsolete 17th-century fabric name 'duroy'. The fanciful derivation from French 'corde du roi' ('king's cord') is unattested in French. First attested in English circa 1774. Unlike velvet, which offers a seamless, plush luxury, or twill, with its workmanlike diagonal glide, corduroy is a fabric of architectural texture and democratic resilience. It is the rough, satisfying run of a thumbnail along its ribbed surface, the particular sigh of trousers in a quiet library, and the way its alternating bands of wear and shadow chart a lifetime of honest use—a tactile record of paths walked, enduring by design.
Etymology
Origin uncertain. Probably from cord + duroy (“a 17th century coarse fabric made in England”). Probably not from French *corde du roi (“cloth of the king”), which is unattested in French, where the term for the corduroy is velours côtelé. Possibly from cordesoy from corde de soie (“rope of silk or silk-like fabric”), named for example in a 1756 advertisement for clothing fabrics; see Wikipedia article, and comparable in language form to the contemporary serg(e)dusoys (“silk serge”), see Serge (fabric).
adj
- Of a road, path, etc., paved with split or round logs laid crosswise side by side.e.g.“Swamps had to be crossed by means of corduroy causeways; made by cutting down trees and laying them horizontally on the quivering mass of boggy ground.”
noun
- A heavy fabric, usually made of cotton, with vertical ribs.
- Cheap and poor-quality whiskey.e.g.“Another description of what would be termed adulterated spirits, is by the vulgar termed "Corduroy," on account of the rough feeling which it imparts to the tongue and palate.”
- A pattern on snow resulting from the use of a snow groomer to pack snow and improve skiing, snowboarding and snowmobile trail conditions. Corduroy is widely regarded as a good surface on which to ski or ride.
verb
- To make (a road) by laying down split logs or tree-trunks over a marsh, swamp etc.e.g.“The night was very dark and it rained heavily, the roads were so bad that the troops had to cut trees and corduroy the road a part of the way, to get through.”
Words closest in meaning
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