A decorative fabric or canvas material used to cover and protect a floor, similar to a rug.
From 'floor' (Old English 'flor') + 'cloth' (Old English 'clað', woven fabric). Popular from the 18th-20th centuries as a practical, washable floor covering.
Floorcloths were the linoleum of the Victorian era—servants would scrub them daily, and their painted patterns (geometric designs, even trompe-l'oeil marble) made poor homes feel fancy!
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