from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Muslin \Mus"lin\, n. [F. mousseline; cf. It. mussolino, mussolo,
Sp. muselina; all from Mussoul a city of Mesopotamia, Ar.
Mausil, Syr. Mauzol, Muzol, Mosul, where it was first
manufactured. Cf. {Mull} a kind of cloth.]
A thin cotton, white, dyed, or printed. The name is also
applied to coarser and heavier cotton goods; as, shirting and
sheeting muslins. In sheeting, muslin is not as finely woven
as {percale}.
[1913 Webster +PJC]
{Muslin cambric}. See {Cambric}.
{Muslin delaine}, a light woolen fabric for women's dresses.
See {Delaine}. [Written also {mousseline de laine}.]
[1913 Webster]