brilliantine
/ˈbrɪlj(ə)ntiːn
/noun [mass noun]
1 dated Scented oil used on men’s hair to make it look glossy.The firm was known for its cough medicine, but in fact the products included hair cream, brilliantine, and others....
- A man his age, his hair combed back with brilliantine, was nestled in one of the chairs.
- Guttman, closely cropped, clean-shaven and smelling of brilliantine, heads for Mozambique.
2US Shiny dress fabric made from cotton and mohair or cotton and worsted.The race took the products of the economic boom all over Italy: brilliantine, coffee machines, and cookers....
- His mood alters as he turns from the brilliantine carpet to the brooding figures that adorn his walls.
- The bride will wear a white serge suit and the bridegroom will wear a white brilliantine suit.
Derivatives
brilliantined
- Yearning for that brilliantined, cigarette-case glamour brought the Social Club into being.
- The magazine published a photo of me wearing an armband, my brilliantined hair rippling back.
- Your average brilliantined, bike-chained ted is now over 60.
Origin
Late 19th century: from French brillantine, from brillant 'shining' (see brilliant).