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nylon

Pronunciation: /ˈnaɪlɒn/

The English word “nylon” has 3 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. Originally, the DuPont company trade name for polyamide, a copolymer whose molecules consist of alternating diamine and dicarboxylic acid monomers bonded together; now generically used for this type of polymer.
  2. A stocking originally fabricated from nylon; also used generically for any long, sheer stocking worn on a woman's legs.
  3. A Queen's Counsel, King's Counsel or Senior Counsel who was appointed as a courtesy, rather than on merit.

Etymology

Coined by the company DuPont in 1938. According to the company, the name was formed from the random generic syllable nyl- + the common fiber suffix -on (as in rayon and Dacron), said to be ultimately from cotton.

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.