Denim

Denim, in American usage since the late eighteenth century, shows a rough cotton twill textile, in which the weft passes under two (twi- "double") or more warp fibers, producing the memorable diagonal ribbing specialized on the reverse of the fabric, which distinguishes denim from cotton duck. Denim was conventionally colored blue with indigo dye to make blue "jeans," though "jean" then denoted a different, lighter cotton textile; the up to date use of jean comes from the French word for Genoa, Italy (Gênes), from which the initial denim trousers were made.