▪ I. ‖ tulle
(tyl, tuːl)
[F. tulle (1812 in Hatz.-Darm.), ‘named from Tulle, chief town of the department of Corrèze, where the fabric was first manufactured’ (Littré).]
a. A fine silk bobbin-net used for women's dresses, veils, hats, etc.
| c 1818 Mrs. Carey Tour France xv. (1823) 310 This imitation is of silk, called tulle, from the name of the town where it is principally made. 1868 Morn. Star 7 Mar., Her Royal Highness..wore. a petticoat of white tulle over rich glacé silk. 1888 ‘J. S. Winter’ Bootle's Childr. ix, The effect of the sweeping train, the shower of tulle which fell from the golden coronet of her hair. |
| attrib. 1859 Habits Gd. Society iv. (new ed.) 183 A beautiful tulle dress. 1900 E. Glyn Visits Eliz. (1906) 54, I wore the white silk and my pink tulle hat. |
b. tulle gras (gra) [F. gras fatty], a gauze dressing for the skin impregnated with petroleum jelly.
| 1933 Jrnl. R. Army Medical Corps XL. 353 The ‘Tulle Gras’ dressing..was first placed on the market..by a French firm some years ago. It consists..of a fairly large-mesh gauze net, impregnated with vaseline containing 1 per cent. of balsam of Peru, supplied in sections of about four inches by five inches in size. 1974 R. M. Kirk et al. Surgery v. 75 A partial thickness burn, or one that is of doubtful nature, is treated by removing debris, pricking and emptying the blisters, and covering the area with tulle gras..which is non-adherent. |
▪ II. tulle
var. till v.3 Obs.; obs. f. toll v.1