mungo

A tailor examines a piece of mungo fabric under the light.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A type of reclaimed wool fiber: "mungo" refers to a low-quality wool fiber obtained by shredding used woolen rags or cloth, often used in the production of cheaper textiles.
   • A byproduct of textile recycling: Specifically, it is the shorter, weaker fibers produced when reprocessing woolen materials, distinct from "shoddy" (which comes from softer, higher-quality wool).

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The factory produced mungo from old woolen blankets to make inexpensive felt. (A low-quality wool fiber reclaimed from used textiles.)
  • Unlike shoddy, mungo is made from harder, more tightly woven fabrics and has shorter fibers. (A specific type of reclaimed wool with distinct properties.)

Advanced Usage

• "mungo and shoddy": A paired term in the textile industry, where "mungo" refers to fibers from hard-woven fabrics (like worsted wool) and "shoddy" from softer fabrics (like flannel).
  • The recycling plant sorted woolen rags into mungo and shoddy based on fiber length and quality. (Categorizing reclaimed wool fibers for different uses.)

Variants and Related Words

• Mungo (adj): Relating to or made from this low-quality wool fiber.
  • The mungo cloth was rough but durable. (Cloth made from reclaimed short wool fibers.)

Synonyms

• Reclaimed wool: Wool recovered from used textiles.
• Recycled fiber: A broader term for any fiber reclaimed from waste materials.

Phrasal Verbs

Related Idioms

• (The term is primarily technical and used in textile manufacturing contexts.)