[tweed] 
,| 1. | a coarse wool cloth in a variety of weaves and colors, either hand-spun and handwoven in Scotland or reproduced, often by machine, elsewhere. |
| 2. | tweeds, garments made of this cloth. |
| 3. | a paper having a rough surface, used esp. for certain photographic prints. |
[tweed] ,| 1. | William Mar⋅cy [mahr-see] (“Boss Tweed”), 1823–78, U.S. politician. |
| 2. | a river flowing E from S Scotland along part of the NE boundary of England into the North Sea. 97 mi. (156 km) long. |
| 3. | a male given name. |
| tweed (twēd) n.
[Alteration (possibly influenced by the river Tweed) of Scots tweel, twill, from Middle English twile; see twill.] Word History: Changes in word forms are not always the result of patterned changes in consonants and vowels over time. In the case of the word tweed, as in many others, human error may have played a part. Tweed may be the result of a misreading of tweel, an originally Scots form of twill. Tweed might also be a misreading of an abbreviated form of tweeled, a form of twilled. Association with Tweed, the name of the river that is part of the border between England and Scotland, probably helped support the misreading of what was originally a trade name. Harris Tweed, a particular type of tweed, is still trademarked and must be woven from yarn dyed and spun in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Tweed is said to have first been used around 1831, but it is not recorded until 1847. |
| Tweed (twēd) A river, 156 km (97 mi) long, of southeast Scotland forming part of the Scottish-English border. It flows eastward to the North Sea and has rich salmon fisheries. |
| Tweed, William Marcy Known as "Boss Tweed." 1823-1878. American politician. The Democratic boss of New York City in the 1860s, he defrauded the city of millions of dollars before being exposed and convicted (1873). |
