A closely woven fabric with a smooth finish, originally referring to wool cloth woven wider than standard, but now commonly describing fine cotton shirting fabric with a plain weave and lustrous appearance.
Originally from 'broad cloth,' referring to wool fabric woven on wide looms (54-63 inches) versus narrow looms. The term shifted meaning in the 19th century to describe fine cotton shirting fabrics that shared the smooth, lustrous finish of the original wool broadcloth.
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