Etymograph

English

flannel

Flannel comes from Old French flaine, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wĺ̥h₁neh₂ ‘wool’, and ultimately from *h₂welh₁- ‘hair’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂welh₁-1‘hair’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂wĺ̥h₁neh₂2‘wool’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Celticc. 1300–800 BCE*wlānos2reconstructed
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400flaine2
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500flaunneol2
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1886flannel2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₂wĺ̥h₁neh₂
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English flannel
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1886, – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard: “The Witch of Endor was a fool to her,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂welh₁-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₂wĺ̥h₁neh₂‘hair’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂wĺ̥h₁neh₂Wiktionary, English flannel‘wool’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Celticc. 1300–800 BCE*wlānosWiktionary, English flannelreconstructed
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400flaineWiktionary, English flannel
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500flaunneolWiktionary, English flannel
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1886flannelWiktionary, English flannel. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1886, – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard: “The Witch of Endor was a fool to her,…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁- ‘hair’

value, wild, equivalent, valid, valuation, vale, avail, velvet, valiant, vail, wield, fluff, valour, cuckold, woolen, velour, valorous, lanolin, 43 more

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂wĺ̥h₁neh₂ ‘wool’

wool, woll, 13 more

Today it means

noun A soft cloth material originally woven from wool, today often combined with cotton or synthetic fibers.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “flannel”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Proto-Indo-European *h₂wĺ̥h₁neh₂. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁- / flannel

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