lint
UK[lɪnt]US[lɪnt]
n
Soft, fluffy fibers that come off fabric, especially from clothes or towels.
n
A soft material used for dressing wounds.
Etymology
The word 'lint' originates from the Middle English 'lynet', which referred to flax prepared for spinning. This term likely came from Old French 'linette', a derivative of 'lin', meaning 'flax', which itself traces back to Latin 'linum'. The semantic journey is one of material refinement: from the raw flax plant, to the prepared fibers for making linen cloth, and finally to the small, loose fibers that detach from such cloth. The modern sense of fluffy fabric debris or a soft medical dressing directly evolved from this association with processed flax fibers.
Analysis
The word 'lint' is a simplex word of Germanic origin. It does not contain separable morphemes in its modern English form.
Examples
He cleaned the lint filter in the dryer after every load.
The nurse applied a piece of sterile lint to the small cut.
Dark sweaters always seem to attract more lint than light-colored ones.