"coffy" as an antedating in 1743

[Mark Mandel]

On Thu, Mar 5, 2009 at 11:30 AM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
> I forgot to add that both of the following claim more information
> about "caffoy" than the OED2's "1. Some kind of fabric, imported in
> the 18th c.". Â They call it a woolen velvet.

When I saw the comment about a fabric, I wondered what kind of cloth.
A calico*, for example, wouldn't seem appropriate for lining a
carriage, but a woolen velvet seems suitable, in look and feel and
ability to damp noise and vibration.


* OED:
    2. Hence:    a. orig. A general name for cotton cloth of all kinds
imported from the East (see quot. 1753); ‘an Indian stuff made of
cotton, sometimes stained with gay and beautiful colours’ (J.);
subsequently, also, various cotton fabrics of European manufacture
(sometimes also with linen warp).    b. Now, in England, applied
chiefly to plain white unprinted cotton cloth, bleached or unbleached
(called in Scotland and U.S. cotton).    c. in U.S. to printed cotton
cloth, coarser than muslin.

m a m

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