Useless knowledge we dug up this week.
Fustian
Now, I know what you’re thinking: “Fustian? Is that another one of those literary subgenres? A kind of psychological trope, maybe?” I am here to tell you in a very fustian manner that you are wrong about the meaning of “fustian.” Fustian means a fewstian things, but firstian things first: We’re here to discuss wordplay.
Fustian is a heavy cloth woven from cotton. Today, we’re more familiar with some of its varieties—denim, corduroy, velveteen, and moleskin—but fustian dates all the way back to the middle ages. Historians believe that fustian may have been named after the Egyptian city of Fustat, its likely birthplace. Over the next few centuries, fustian spread up into and across Europe, gaining popularity for its cost-effectiveness and durability. Long story short, a lot of people used fustian for a lot of things.
One of those things was padding clothing. In addition to being cost-effective and durable, fustian is also thick. This made it a natural choice to use as insulation for cold-weather clothing. And as fashions changed, tailors began to put that padding in less practical places, too. Anyone like shoulderpads?
As it always does, the English language took its own course. Clothing is not the only thing that can be padded; writing can, too. In the 1600s, “fustian” became an adjective used to describe someone who is trying too hard to sound smart. Purple prose? Sounds pretty fustian to me. Incidentally, another synonym is “bombast,” a word that originally meant—you guessed it, a type of padding.
—Kana Coonce, Wandering Wikipedia Editor
Photo from Arad Branding, an exporter of Iranian goods.