worsted

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

noun a woolen fabric with a hard textured surface and no nap; woven of worsted yarns
noun a tightly twisted woolen yarn spun from long-staple wool
verb defeat thoroughly

Inherited from Middle English worstede, worsted, from Worstede (now Worstead; Old English *Wurϸestede), a town in Norfolk, England.

JOHN IS WORSTED BY THE WOMEN LXIV. — Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor, R. D. (Richard Doddridge) Blackmore
It was not possible for me to get the worsteds yesterday. — Jane Austen, Her Life and Letters: A Family Record, William Austen-Leigh
Suppose, ma’am, your two children, there, should be taken from you, and sold?” “We can’t reason from our feelings to those of this class of persons,” said the other lady, sorting out some worsteds on her lap. — Uncle Tom's Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe

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