homespun

Etymology

From home + spun.

adj

1. (of yarn) Spun in the home.
2. (of fabric) Woven in the home.
3. (of clothing, etc.) Made from homespun fabric.
   1855–1859, Washington Irving, The Life of George Washington homespun country garbs
   He became more and more excited; he rose from the sofa, walked up and down the floor with hurried steps and fought with his hands in the air, till the light flickered hither and thither, while the sweeping tail of his long grey home-spun coat described long circles every time he swung himself round and raised himself on his longer leg, for, like Tyrtaeus and Peter Solvold of our parish, he was afflicted with a limp. 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 250
4. (by extension) Plain and homely; unsophisticated and unpretentious.
   our homespun English proverb
   our homespun authors must forsake the field 1707, Joseph Addison, Prologue to Phaedra and Hippolitus (spoken by Mr. Wilkes, written by Edmund Smith)
   For quotations using this term, see Citations:homespun.

noun

1. Fabric made from homespun yarn. Also, machine made fabrics (usually cottons) similar to homespun fabrics in that solids, plaids, or stripes are created by weaving dyed threads (rather than printing), so that both sides of the fabric look the same.
   For quotations using this term, see Citations:homespun.
2. (obsolete) An unpolished, rustic person.
   For quotations using this term, see Citations:homespun.