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Glite Dictionary
🧵 A fiber lump 🧵 To form knots
nep

nep

9.9
A small knot of short threads in wool or cloth seen as a flaw
  • noun
  • /nɛp/
  • Specialized
: nep
  • "White-speck neps" are small knots of tangled fibers that can cause a dye defect and reduce fabric quality.
  • speck nep
  • white-speck neps
  • nep control

Examples

  • Cotton grading systems such as HVI (high-volume instrumentation) can track neps, but not all neps produce white specks.

    Academic text (1997)

  • The presence of neps in the wool can affect the overall softness and appearance of the fabric.

  • Others will be directed toward detecting immature trite-speck neps before they reach the dye bath.

    Academic text (1997)

  • It's just the tangles of very immature fibers that become undyeable white-speck neps.

    Academic text (1997)

  • "White-speck neps" are small knots of tangled fibers that can cause a dye defect and reduce fabric quality.

  • Quality control measures are necessary to identify and remove neps from the final textile product.

Synonyms

knot
vsnep
32 3.0

A hard lump in wood, muscle, or yarn

is a tiny soft fiber lump in wool or cloth seen as a flaw

Antonyms

perfection
168 3.7

A thing that has no mistakes and shows the best quality

smoothness
4 2.6

How something works without pauses or problems

Surface Forms

nep singular
neps plural

Etymology

Nep probably comes from an old word for a small 'knot' or 'lump' of fiber, so a nep is simply a tiny knot in wool or cloth that can spoil its smooth look.