# muslin

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈmʌz.lɪn/ · frequency rank #44,948

## Definitions
1. Any of several varieties of thin cotton cloth.
2. Fabric made of cotton, flax (linen), hemp, or silk, finely or coarsely woven.
3. Any of a wide variety of tightly-woven thin fabrics, especially those used for bedlinen.
4. Woven cotton or linen fabrics, especially when used for items other than garments.
5. A dressmaker's pattern made from inexpensive cloth for fitting.
6. Any of several different moths, especially the muslin moth, Diaphora mendica.
7. Woman as sex object; prostitute, as in a bit of muslin.

## Etymology
From French mousseline, from Italian mussolina, from Mussolo (“Mosul”), that is Mosul in northern Iraq (compare 1875 Knight, Edward H., Knight's American Mechanical Dictionary, V2 p1502: "Muslins are so called from Moussol in India."). Doublet of mousseline.

## Easily confused with
- **music** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/music-vs-muslin)
- **Mulan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mulan-vs-muslin)
- **Malin** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/malin-vs-muslin)
- **Muslim** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/muslim-vs-muslin)
- **merlin** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/merlin-vs-muslin)
- **muffin** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/muffin-vs-muslin)
- **mullen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mullen-vs-muslin)
- **marlin** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/marlin-vs-muslin)
- **moulin** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moulin-vs-muslin)
- **musing** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/musing-vs-muslin)
- **Mullins** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mullins-vs-muslin)
- **mulling** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mulling-vs-muslin)

## Common misspellings (9)
`mmuslin`, `msulin`, `mulsin`, `musiln`, `muslinn`, `musllin`, `muslni`, `musslin`, `umslin`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/muslin