wool

[woo l] /wʊl/

noun

the fine, soft, curly hair that forms the fleece of sheep and certain other animals, characterized by minute, overlapping surface scales that give it its felting property.

fabrics and garments of such wool.

yarn made of such wool.

any of various substances used commercially as substitutes for the wool of sheep or other animals.

any of certain vegetable fibers, as cotton or flax, used as wool, especially after preparation by special process (vegetable wool)

any finely fibrous or filamentous matter suggestive of the wool of sheep:

glass wool; steel wool.

any coating of short, fine hairs or hairlike processes, as on a caterpillar or a plant; pubescence.

Informal. the human hair, especially when short, thick, and crisp.

Idioms

all wool and a yard wide, genuine; excellent; sincere:

He was a real friend, all wool and a yard wide.

10.

dyed in the wool, inveterate; confirmed:

a dyed in the wool sinner.

11.

pull the wool over someone's eyes, to deceive or delude someone:

The boy thought that by hiding the broken dish he could pull the wool over his mother's eyes.

Origin

before 900; Middle English wolle, Old English wull(e), cognate with Dutch wol, German Wolle, Old Norse ull, Gothic wulla; akin to Latin lāna, Sanskrit ūrṇā, Welsh gwlân wool, Latin vellus fleece, Greek oúlos woolly

Related forms

woollike, adjective

nonwool, adjective

British Dictionary definitions for pull the wool over someone's eyes

wool

/wʊl/

noun

the outer coat of sheep, yaks, etc, which consists of short curly hairs

yarn spun from the coat of sheep, etc, used in weaving, knitting, etc

cloth or a garment made from this yarn
(as modifier): a wool dress

any of certain fibrous materials: glass wool, steel wool

(informal) short thick curly hair

a tangled mass of soft fine hairs that occurs in certain plants

dyed in the wool, confirmed in one's beliefs or opinions

pull the wool over someone's eyes, to deceive or delude someone

Derived Forms

wool-like, adjective

Word Origin

Old English wull; related to Old Frisian, Middle Dutch wulle, Old High German wolla (German Wolle), Old Norse ull, Latin lāna and vellus fleece

Word Origin and History for pull the wool over someone's eyes

wool

Old English wull, from Proto-Germanic *wulno (cf. Old Norse ull, Old Frisian wolle, Middle Dutch wolle, Dutch wol, Old High German wolla, German wolle, Gothic wulla), from PIE *wele- (cf. Sanskrit urna; Avestan varena; Greek lenos "wool;" Latin lana "wool," vellus "fleece;" Old Church Slavonic vluna, Russian vulna, Lithuanian vilna "wool;" Middle Irish olann, Welsh gwlan "wool"). Figurative expression pull the wool over (someone's) eyes is recorded from 1839, American English.

Slang definitions & phrases for pull the wool over someone's eyes

pull the wool over someone's eyes

verb phrase

To deceive; mislead: The whole indignant act was an attempt to pull the wool over the voters' eyes

[1842+; a slightly earlier form is spread the wool over someone's eyes]

wool

Related Terms

pull the wool over someone's eyes

pull the wool over someone's eyes in the Bible

one of the first material used for making woven cloth (Lev. 13:47, 48, 52, 59; 19:19). The first-fruit of wool was to be offered to the priests (Deut. 18:4). The law prohibiting the wearing of a garment "of divers sorts, as of woollen and linen together" (Deut. 22:11) may, like some other laws of a similar character, have been intended to express symbolically the separateness and simplicity of God's covenant people. The wool of Damascus, famous for its whiteness, was of great repute in the Tyrian market (Ezek. 27:18).

Idioms and Phrases with pull the wool over someone's eyes

pull the wool over someone's eyes

Deceive or hoodwink someone, as in His partner had pulled the wool over his eyes for years by keeping the best accounts for himself. This term alludes to the former custom of wearing a wig, which when slipping down can blind someone temporarily. [ c. 1800 ]

wool

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