Meanings
plural linoleums
- countableuncountableAn inexpensive waterproof covering used especially for floors, made from solidified linseed oil over a burlap or canvas backing, or from its modern replacement, polyvinyl chloride.
The house seemed unfamiliar in the dark stormy light; the red and purple glass of the front door made livid bruises on the linoleum; the green chenille curtain was like a veil of seaweed.
1929, M. Barnard Eldershaw, A House is Built, Chapter VII, Section viSynonyms: lino
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn inexpensive waterproof covering used especially for floors, made from solidified linseed oil over a burlap or canvas backing, or from its modern replacement, polyvinyl chloride.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From Latin līnum (“flax”) + oleum (“oil”). Coined by English manufacturer and inventor Frederick Walton c. 1864 and used as a trade name but never registered as a trademark. It was the first product whose name was ruled to be genericized.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic مُشَمَّع
- مُشَمَّع (mušammaʕ)inexpensive waterproof covering
Catalan linòleum
- linòleuminexpensive waterproof covering
Chinese Mandarin 油地氈 /油地毡, 油氈 /油毡
- 油地氈 /油地毡 (yóudìzhān)inexpensive waterproof covering
- 油氈 /油毡 (yóuzhān)inexpensive waterproof covering
- 油布 (yóubù)inexpensive waterproof covering
Czech linoleum
- linoleuminexpensive waterproof covering
Esperanto linoleumo
- linoleumoinexpensive waterproof covering
Finnish linoleumi
- linoleumiinexpensive waterproof covering
French linoléum
- linoléuminexpensive waterproof covering
German Linoleum
- Linoleuminexpensive waterproof covering
Greek λινόλεουμ
- λινόλεουμ (linóleoum)inexpensive waterproof covering
Hungarian linóleum
- linóleuminexpensive waterproof covering
Indonesian linoleum
- linoleuminexpensive waterproof covering
Italian linoleum
- linoleuminexpensive waterproof covering
Japanese リノリウム
- リノリウム (rinoriumu)inexpensive waterproof covering
Māori kahupeka
- kahupekainexpensive waterproof covering
Polish linoleum
- linoleuminexpensive waterproof covering
Romanian linoleum
- linoleuminexpensive waterproof covering
Russian лино́леум
- лино́леум (linóleum)inexpensive waterproof covering
Slovak linoleum
- linoleuminexpensive waterproof covering
Spanish linóleo
- linóleoinexpensive waterproof covering
Swedish linoleum, korkmatta
- linoleuminexpensive waterproof covering
- korkmattainexpensive waterproof covering
Cite this entry
linoleum. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/linoleum
“linoleum.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/linoleum. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “linoleum,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/linoleum.
Source: linoleum on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.