tiretaine

Like all pleasures in life, tartan - which derives from the French word "tiretaine" - is best served in small doses.

The Independent - Frontpage RSS Feed 2008

The name was adapted from the French _tiretaine_, a thin woolen checked cloth.

Textiles For Commercial, Industrial, and Domestic Arts Schools; Also Adapted to Those Engaged in Wholesale and Retail Dry Goods, Wool, Cotton, and Dressmaker's Trades

I have seen him sometimes in summer, when to hear his people's suits, he would come into the gardens of Paris, clad in a camel's-hair coat, with a sleeveless surcoat of tiretaine, a cloak of black taffety round his neck, his hair well combed and without a quoif, and a white swansdown hat upon his head.

The Memoirs of the Lord of Joinville 1906