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''twill'' ▫ᴱᴺ Entries

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''twill'' ▫ᴱᴺ｜Definition｜1st｜20260218114101-00-⌔

twill - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

🖼️ ➺

Noun

twill (countable and uncountable, plural twills)

  • (weaving) A pattern, characterised by diagonal ridges, created by the regular interlacing of threads of the warp and weft during weaving.
    • ✤ The twill weave is always given a direction; a right-hand twill is one in which the twill line runs from bottom left to top right and a left-hand twill is one in which the twill line runs from bottom right to top left. The angle of the twill is determined by the amount of shift in the points of interlacing.1
    • ✤ Industrial uses of twill fabrics are mainly restricted to simple twills and only simple twills are described here. Broken twills, waved twills, herringbone twills and elongated twills are extensively used for suiting and dress fabrics.2
    • ✤ Herringbone fabrics are a twill variation having the twill line reversed at regular intervals.3
  • A cloth or portion of cloth woven in such a pattern.
    • ✤ Plain cotton twills, such as canvas, sailcloth, and denim, in mediumweight fabrics, can be a good choice for informal rooms that receive considerable wear and tear, such as rec rooms, dens, playrooms, or children’s bedrooms.4

Verb

twill (third-person singular simple present twills, present participle twilling, simple past and past participle twilled)

  • (transitive) To weave (cloth, etc.) so as to produce the appearance of diagonal lines or ribs on the surface.

Etymology

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From Middle English twyll, twylle, from Old English twilīċ (“two-threaded”), a partial calque of Latin bilix, bilic-, from bis (“twice”) + licium (“thread”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /twɪl/, [twɪɫ]
  • Audio (Southern England): 🔊
  • Rhymes: -ɪl
  • Homophone: ‘twill

Printed 2026-06-28.

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Footnotes

  1. 1973, P. R. Lord, M. H. Mohamed, Weaving: Conversion of Yarn to Fabric, 2nd edition, page 167: ↩

  2. 2000, Walter S. Sondhelm, “4: Technical fabric structures - 1. Woven fabrics”, in A. Richard Horrocks, Subhash C. Anand, editors, Handbook of Technical Textiles, page 68: ↩

  3. 2002, Dianne Rose Jackman, Mary K. Dixon, Jill Condra, The Guide to Textiles for Interiors, page 98: ↩

  4. 2006, Mark Montano, Carly Sommerstein, Window Treatments and Slipcovers For Dummies, page 33: ↩

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