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October 23, 2023
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| Word of the
Week--"nylon"
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Definition--any of various very
strong, elastic synthetic resins
from which a wide variety of products are manufactured, including
clothing, hosiery, ropes and brushes.
The plural form nylons refers to stockings made of nylon
material.
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Discussion--In modern times, nylon
has replaced the silk stockings
first worn by Queen Elizabeth in 1589. Nylon was invented shortly before
World War II by Dr. Wallace Carothers
of DuPont. It was originally called "Fiber 66", and was renamed and
introduced to the public at the New
York World's fair in 1938. Nylon stockings became extremely popular when
they were sold publicly, but
availability was disrupted as the entire output was used for the war
effort. Nylons remained popular after
the war until the introduction of pantyhose in 1970; pantyhose quickly
gained 70% of the market share.
Besides hosiery, nylon is used extensively in the manufacturing of items,
such as carpeting, inline skates,
zippers, fishing nets, golf balls, gun handles, and more.
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| Etymology--Nylon was coined
by DuPont in 1938. They combined
"nyl" with the English suffix "-on". They reportedly intended it to be
reminiscent of other fiber terms
such as cotton and rayon.
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The term also appears in the
languages shown below. |
Foreign
Translations
| German: |
Nylon (nt) |
| Dutch: |
nylon |
| French: |
nylon (m) |
| Italian: |
nailon |
| Spanish: |
nylon |
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Jane Ellis
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