osnaburg

O1S1N1A1B3U1R1G2

noun

A plain, coarse textile fabric made from flax, tow or jute yarns.

First used 15th c.Scrabble 11
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Meanings

nounosnaburg (countable and uncountable, plural osnaburgs)

plural osnaburgs

  1. UScountableuncountableA plain, coarse textile fabric made from flax, tow or jute yarns.First known use 15th c.

    [I]f he attended those solemn meetings at which the price of freight or the quality of Osnaburghs was discussed, he turned the venerable persons of the old merchants and grocers into ridicule […].

    1791, Charlotte Smith, Celestina, Broadview, published 2004, page 258
adjectiveosnaburg (comparative more osnaburg, superlative most osnaburg)

comparative more osnaburg · superlative most osnaburg

  1. USDesignating or made from this fabric.First known use 17th c.

    So that winter morning, I put on my osnaburg shirt and pants.

    2019, Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Water Dancer, Penguin Books (2020), pages 11–12

Origin

From Osnaburg, the former English name of the German city of Osnabrück (from which it may have been first imported into English-speaking countries).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

osnaburg. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/osnaburg

MLA

“osnaburg.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/osnaburg. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “osnaburg,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/osnaburg.

Source: osnaburg on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.