▪ I. ‖ toile1
(twal)
In 6 also toyl(e, Also 8 toille.
[F. toile linen cloth, canvas:—L. tēla web.]
1. † a. Cloth; in quot. 1575, cloth or canvas used for painting on. Obs. rare.
| 1561 Reg. Privy Council Scot. I. 172 To persew for ane schip and toylis, quhilk is callit lynnyng clayth in oure language. 1575 Laneham Let. 51 By toile and pensill so lyuely exprest. |
b. A painting on canvas.
| 1919 R. Fry Let. 6 Oct. (1972) II. 458 Her old studio..was stacked with her husband's immense toiles of Majorca. 1949 N. Mitford Love in Cold Climate ii. v. 237 The dozens of toiles by him..are worthy of the Douanier himself. |
2. A dress material: see quots. Also with Fr. defining addition; esp. toile de Jouy, a fabric for upholstery or drapery with a characteristic floral, figure, or landscape design, usu. in one colour on a light background, orig. made at Jouy-en-Josas near Paris.
| 1794 A. Young Trav. France (ed. 2) I. xix. 552 The linens..are toille de menage; that exported to Spain is..called toille de leon. 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, Toile (French), linen cloth. 1873 Young Englishwoman Oct. 506/1 Paletot of grey-coloured toile de laine. 1899 Westm. Gaz. 22 June 3/2 A simple pretty afternoon gown of blue toile, that mixture of silk and linen. 1923 Weekly Dispatch 11 Feb. 14, 5,000 Yards of Toile de Chine. Made of finest Spun Silk. 1934 E. Waugh Handful of Dust i. 16 She hasn't paid for the toile-de-jouy chaircovers we made her last April. 1958 I. Murdoch Bell ix. 135 She saw the flat in Knightsbridge..glowing with stripy wallpaper and toile de Jouy. 1983 Harrods Mag. Spring & Summer 143 ‘Toile de Jouy’, a French pastoral scene in Deep Pink on Plain Pink. |
3. A pattern for a garment made up in muslin, cotton, or the like, for fitting or for use in making copies.
| 1959 Guardian 18 Nov. 6/4 An excellent little collection of models made from toiles bought in Paris. 1982 Times 29 June 13/4, I spent seven months of a two-year couture course just making toiles for skirts. |
▪ II. toile
obs. f. tuille, piece of body armour.
▪ III. toile
obs. f. toil; obs. Sc. form of tool.