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wool

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
fiber made from the fleece of the domestic sheep . Wool consists of the cortex, overlapping scales (sharper and more protruding than those of hair) that may expand at their free edges causing fibers to intermesh; elasticum, the inner layer; and a core. When soaked, the elasticum and core contract, shrinking the fiber. Elasticity resulting from the molecular structure of wool and resiliency from its crimp make wool fabrics crease resistant. Fine wool will stretch one third its length. Wool is warm because its fibers are nonconductors of heat and its crimp permits it to enmesh still air. It is highly absorbent and releases moisture slowly. Its tensile strength is one fourth greater than that of cotton. A protein compound of complex chemical composition, it is soluble in hot caustic soda. Wool is classed as follows: fine, usually short-staple wool of Merino fineness and including Delaine Merino, combable fibers 2 in. (5.1 cm) or more in length; medium, or mutton, 2 1/2 to 6 in. (6.4–15.2…
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Full text Article wool

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
fiber made from the fleece of the domestic sheep . Wool consists of the cortex, overlapping scales (sharper and more protruding than those of hair) that may expand at their free edges causing fibers to intermesh; elasticum, the inner layer; and a core. When soaked, the elasticum and core contract, …
| 1,012 words
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Full text Article Wool

From Encyclopedia of World Trade: From Ancient Times to the Present Full text Article A-Z Entries
Bulgarian peasants display piles of black and...
Hair of sheep used to produce fabric primarily for clothing. The use of wool for fabric extends back to ancient times. Ancient Egyptians, Babylonians, and Assyrians used the wool from sheep to make foot coverings. The ancient Greeks exported wool throughout the Mediterranean Sea, as did the Romans. …
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Full text Article wool

From The Chambers Dictionary
the fleece of sheep, goats, yaks, etc, a modified kind of hair of which the fibres are soft, fine and curly, with an imbricated surface that makes for felting; this spun into yarn or thread for knitting or weaving; fabric or clothing woven or knitted from such yarn; downy hair under the coat of any…
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Full text Article wool

From The Macquarie Dictionary
the fine, soft, curly hair, characterised by minute, overlapping surface scales, to which its felting property is mainly due, that forms the fleece of sheep and certain other animals, that of sheep constituting one of the most important materials of clothing. Plural: wools a fibre produced from…
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Full text Article wool

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Natural hair covering of the sheep, and also of the llama, angora goat, and some other mammals . The domestic sheep Ovis aries provides the great bulk of the fibres used in textile production. A by-product of wool production is lanolin . History Sheep have been bred for their wool since ancient…
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Full text Article wool

From Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary
Staple fibers, usually 2–8 in long, obtained from the fleece of sheep (and also alpaca, vicuna, and certain goats). Physically, wool differs from hair in fineness and by the presence of prominent cortical scales and a natural crimp. The latter properties are responsible for the felting properties of…
| 156 words
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Full text Article Lumpy Wool, Wool Rot

From Black's Veterinary Dictionary
Paragonimus.
Lumpy wool (wool rot) is caused by a bacterium which attacks the sheep's skin during wet weather, causing irritation and the formation of a hard yellowish-white scab about 3 mm (⅛ in) thick. Healing soon occurs and the wool continues to grow carrying the hard material away from the skin as a buff or…
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If one pulls the wool over someone's eyes , one deceives him or her in order to gain an advantage: The government is trying to stop misleading guarantees, short measures, and other methods of pulling the wool over the consumers’ eyes. This idiomatic expression goes back to the time when wigs were…
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Full text Article wool

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Animal fibre that is the protective covering, or fleece, of sheep or such other hairy mammals as goats and camels. Wool is readied by washing (lanolin is the by-product), carding , sometimes combing, then spinning. Coarser than such textile fibres as cotton, linen, silk, and rayon, wool is resilient…
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Full text Article Wool

From Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable
To let one's mind wander from the matter in hand; to be absent-minded. The allusion is perhaps to children sent to gather wool from hedges, who wander hither and thither, apparently aimlessly. The official seat of the speaker of the house of lords . It is a large red square bag of wool, rather like…
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