bainin

bainin

English

A bainin cardigan.

Etymology

Borrowed from Irish báinín, from bán (“white”) +‎ -ín (diminutive suffix).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈbɑːniːn/

Noun

bainin (countable and uncountable, plural bainins)

1. (Ireland) undyed white homespun woolen yarn or cloth
   • 2003, Madeleine L'Engle and Luci Shaw, Friends for the Journey:

     For many years I developed my own variations on an Aran Fisherman theme, intricately patterned, using the wonderful, cream-colored yarn called “bainin” with the sheep’s lanolin still in it, which makes the garment naturally waterproof.

2. (Ireland) the creamy white colour of such yarn or cloth
   • 2012, Shelagh Hollingworth, Traditional Aran Knitting, p. 14:

     By the time it had some of the dirt and grease removed (part scouring) it had become the creamy natural colour (bainin) with which we are all familiar, and although the patterns are worked in other fashion colours and yarns, the true Aran is only made from the thickish bainin woolen yarn.

3. (Ireland) a jacket made of such cloth
   • 2014, Walter Macken, Rain on the Wind:

     It was an instinctive gesture that made him reach then for the bainin of Uncle James. […] The soused white bainin with Uncle James came up beside him.