merino
/məˈriːnəʊ
/noun (plural merinos)
1 (also merino sheep) A sheep of a breed with long, fine wool.Here, flocks of fine wool-bearing merino sheep (first imported from the Cape Colony in 1797) spread out and by 1880 it supported over 60 million sheep....
- The sheep was ideal, the merino sheep because it has big neck folds, the wool breeders grew them with a lot of skin.
- First, it is knitted into a voluminous hat by women in Ariana just to the north of Tunis using imported wool from Australian merino sheep for the deluxe version, local wool for less expensive models.
1.1 [mass noun] A soft woollen or wool-and-cotton material resembling cashmere, originally of merino wool.If you find wool uncomfortable or itchy, you can find sweaters in merino wool, cashmere or mohair, for a softer, almost silky touch - but these can be more pricey, especially cashmere....
- Stock up on key fabrics like cotton, linen, silk and lightweight knits in the summer months, and wool, cashmere and merino knits in the winter.
- Sweaters are simpler this season, available in fabrics such as cotton, regular wool, merino wool or cashmere.
1.2 [mass noun] A fine woollen yarn.It is wonderfully soft and dye free, composed of alpaca and merino from the rare yarns company....
- ‘This spinning wheel is a little darling,’ she added, deftly teasing out a skein of deep bluey green yarn - a luxury mixture of mohair, merino and silk.
- When the paper patterns were colored, the stitcher replicated the colors with her palette of soft merino wool yarns.
1.3West Indian An undershirt, originally one made of merino wool.
Origin
Late 18th century: from Spanish, of unknown origin.