linen paper
- noun
- The official letter was printed on high-quality linen paper, making it look very distinguished.
Examples
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He can revel in the physical details of the craft, the handpressed proofs on their lavish linen paper.
Academic text (2003) -
In the age of powered rotary presses, linotype machines, and machine-made paper, he insisted on using hand presses, manual typesetting, and handmade linen paper.
Academic text (2017) -
It was so sweet of your mom to splurge on French linen paper.
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She wrote her wedding invitations on elegant linen paper to add a touch of sophistication.
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For the graduation announcement, they chose a creamy linen paper to reflect the formal occasion.
Synonyms
Thin material made from wood pulp used for writing, printing and wrapping
A high-quality paper with a fine feel used for invitations and certificates
Thin paper you use to write letters by hand
A sheet people make from old cloth that lasts a long time
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'paper made from or textured like linen' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'linen' (material or texture) with 'paper' (sheets for writing). This noun–noun compound follows a regular compositional pattern found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
The name linen paper comes from making paper from old linen cloth and from giving paper a cloth-like texture. Because it looked and felt like linen, the phrase now means a 'high-quality' textured paper used for formal letters and invitations.