fustian Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun pompous or pretentious talk or writing
    blah; bombast; claptrap; rant.
  2. noun a strong cotton and linen fabric with a slight nap

WordNet

Fus"tian noun
Etymology
OE. fustan, fustian, OF. fustaine, F. futaine, It. fustagno, fr. LL. fustaneum, fustanum; cf. Pr. fustani, Sp. fustan. So called from Fustat, i. e., Cairo, where it was made.
Definitions
  1. A kind of coarse twilled cotton or cotton and linen stuff, including corduroy, velveteen, etc.
  2. An inflated style of writing; a kind of writing in which high-sounding words are used,' above the dignity of the thoughts or subject; bombast.
    Claudius . . . has run his description into the most wretched fustian. Addison.
Fus"tian adjective
Definitions
  1. Made of fustian.
  2. Pompous; ridiculously tumid; inflated; bombastic; as, fustian history. Walpole.

Webster 1913