I ordered up a set of pillowcases that used all three words in the description, and I was curious, ’cause, you know, linen is made from flax (Linum usitatissimum) and hemp (Cannabis sativa) is a totally different plant.
I suppose the pillowcases could have been made of both hemp and linen, but that’s not how the description read. Makes me wonder if English is a second language or if the product isn’t that great . . .
It’d sure make me wonder about the writer, if I were reading this mix-up in a story.
Word Confusions…
…started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noir for you from either end.
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| Flax | Hemp | Linen |
|---|---|---|
Linum usitatissimum by Walther Otto Müller was uploaded by Dubaduba. It is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. — This botanical illustration of the parts of flax is from Koehler’s Medicinal-Plants, 1887. |
Cannabis sativa by NickyPe is under the Pixabay License, via Pixabay. — Yep, hemp is a member of the Cannabaceae family. |
Dyed Linen by sohnji10131 is under the Pixabay License, via Pixabay. — True linen sheets gave me the coolest sleep on hot nights. |
| Part of Grammar: | ||
| Noun
Plural: flax |
Noun
Plural: hemp |
Noun
Plural: linens |
A blue-flowered herbaceous plant that is cultivated for its seed (linseed and flaxseed) and for textile fiber made from its stalks
|
[Also Indian hemp] The cannabis plant, especially when grown for fiber
|
Cloth woven from flax
|
| Examples: | ||
| Oats, millet, opium poppies, and flax were also being cultivated by the end of the Neolithic period.
The principal crops are grain, sunflower seeds, sugar beet, and flax. They built a mill for the preparation and spinning of flax. Travelling with them were weeds of nuisance significance, selection favoring their life-cycles to fit those of the crops or to mimic them: false oat in cereals, and in flax, the false flax. “Purging flax was often used in the past as a gentle laxative” (Herb). “False flax has a high content of omega-3 and is used as a food supplement by some cultures” (Camelina). The oil from the flax plant is known as linseed oil. |
It’s part of a long-running battle to get the Government to relax the restrictions on growing hemp for food and fibre.
As a fabric, hemp is sturdy, strong, and comfortable. A number of herbs including oleander, adonis, black Indian hemp, black hellebore, lily-of-the-valley, squill, and strophanthus contain an active cardiac glycoside that can potentiate digoxin. According to rules laid down by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, opium, heroin, morphine, hemp, cocaine, and other addictive narcotics are banned. |
He wore a linen suit.
He dealt in Irish linens. For best results, match the basket hue to coordinate with linens or fabrics. Suggestions about storing vintage linens and fabrics can also be found in this book. The sheets are in the linen cupboard. Pip quickly led the way over to the brightly colored silks and linens, then had Sonia pick out the fabric for her clothes. Items such as clothes, bed linen, and shoes will be very gratefully accepted. He then stripped the bed of its linen and fetched new sheets and pillow cases from the closet. |
| Derivatives: | ||
| Adjective: flaxen Noun: flaxseed |
Adjective: hempen Noun: hempseed |
Noun: linenfold |
| History of the Word: | ||
| Old English flæx is of West Germanic origin and related to the Dutch vlas and the German Flachs, from an Indo-European root shared by the Latin plectere and the Greek plekein meaning to plait, twist. | Old English henep, hænep is of Germanic origin and related to the Dutch hennep and the German Hanf, also to the Greek kannabis. | Old English līnen (as an adjective in the sense made of flax), is of West Germanic origin and related to the Dutch linnen, the German Leinen, also to the obsolete line meaning flax. |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan…which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them…and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Flax vs Hemp vs Linen
Apple Dictionary.com
“Camelina Oil.” Wikipedia. 25 Feb 2020. Web. 10 June 2021. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camelina_oil>.
“Herb: Purging Flax.” Natural Medicinal Herbs. n.d. Web. 10 June 2021. <http://www.naturalmedicinalherbs.net/herbs/l/linum-catharticum=purging-flax.php>.
Lexico.com. flax, hemp, and linen
Pinterest Photo Credits:
Thick Hemp Rose Close-up is under the CC0 license, via Pixy.org. Its background and some rope sections were removed in Photoshop. Ad for Irish Flax Threads was photographed by David Alan Taylor from the collection of Marie O’Neill and courtesy of the Library of Congress, which is under the Copyright Only license, via Picryl.
