fustian

 
Pronunciation: /ˈfʌstɪən/

noun

[mass noun]
  • 1thick, hard-wearing twilled cloth with a short nap, usually dyed in dark colours: the coarse fustian of prison clothing [as modifier]: a fustian jacket
  • 2pompous or pretentious speech or writing: a smokescreen of fustian and fantasy

Origin:

Middle English: from Old French fustaigne, from medieval Latin fustaneum, from (pannus) fustaneus 'cloth from Fostat', a suburb of Cairo; fustian (sense 2) perhaps from the fact that fustian was sometimes used to cover pillows and cushions, implying that the language was ‘padded’; compare with bombast