Percale is a closely woven plain-weave

fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, and different types of fabric. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is no ...

often used for bed covers. Percale has a

thread count Textile fibers, threads, yarns and fabrics are measured in a multiplicity of units. * A fiber, a single filament of natural material, such as cotton, linen or wool, or artificial material such as nylon, polyester, metal or mineral fiber, or huma ...

of about 180 or higher and is noticeably tighter than

twill Twill is a type of textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and d ...

or sateen. It has medium weight, is firm and smooth with no gloss, and washes very well. It is made from both carded and combed

yarn Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, used in sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery, ropemaking, and the production of textiles. '' Thread'' is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern ...

s, and may be woven of various fibers, such as

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

polyester Polyester is a category of polymers that contain one or two ester linkages in every repeat unit of their main chain. As a specific material, it most commonly refers to a type called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include some natura ...

, or various blends.

History

''Moris'' or ''mauris'' was the 18th-century French term used for percale, the cloth imported from India. It was a

cloth. Moris was the third most exported fabric from

Coromandel Coast The Coromandel Coast is a coastal region along the southeastern front of the Indian peninsula. Its delimitations are numerous, but generally admitted to be bounded by the Krishna River, Krishna river River mouth, mouth to the north, the Bay of B ...

after Longcloth and Salampore. It was superior and finer quality than the peers. Coromandel coastline forms a part of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

and

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

. Moris was produced at Nellore, Arni, Maduranthakam, and

Cuddalore Cuddalore, also spelt as Kadalur (), is a heavy industries hub and a port city, and headquarters of the Cuddalore District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Situated south of Chennai, Cuddalore was an important city and port during the Britis ...

. Palakollu. The cloth was famous as painted chintz in southeast countries also. Percale was formerly imported from India in the 17th and 18th centuries, then manufactured in France.

Etymology

The word may originate from the : ''pargālah'', meaning ''rag'', although the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (as of December 2005) has traced it only as far as 18th-century French. The dictionary of the

Institut d'Estudis Catalans The Institute for Catalan Studies ( ), also known by the acronym and initialism, acronym IEC, is an academic institution which seeks to undertake research and study into "all elements of Catalan culture". It is based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spai ...

describes and as ''some kind of silk fabric in the year 1348 in

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

''. The etymological dictionary of Catalan explains as ''derived from

Perche Perche () (French: ''le Perche'') is a former Provinces of France, province of France, known historically for its forests and, for the past two centuries, for the Percheron draft horse, draft horse breed. Until the French Revolution, Perche was ...

in France''.Diccionari etimològic i complementari de la llengua catalana: O-Qu.- 1986, cop. 1985.- 977 p, page 464, Joan Corominas, Joseph Gulsoy, Max Cahner, Curial Edicions Catalanes, 1995.

References

External links

* {{Fabric Woven fabrics

History

Etymology

See also

References

External links