This thing today, no doubt, is in every home. For over a hundred years, it has been an integral attribute of the interior of any home in the CIS, regardless of the level of wealth of its owner. It is a tulle that adorns almost every window. Despite the frequent use, the word "tulle" is a leader among the nouns of the Russian language, in determining the grammatical gender of which most people make a mistake. So, to what genus does the term “tulle” belong, where did it come from in Russian, and what does it mean?
Meaning of the word
Today, many believe that tulle is just a specialized fabric for curtaining windows in the daytime. However, this opinion is not entirely true, since initially this material was intended to decorate dresses and underwear, and only then it began to be perceived as a purely curtain fabric.
Due to its lightness, elegance and transparency, this material in the old days was a serious competitor for lace, differing from them only in the manufacturing method and lighter structure.
Tulle, or bobbinet, as this type of matter is sometimes called, is in its structure a cross between a woven and woven fabric. Traditionally, tulle consists of longitudinal warp threads, which are not interwoven, but are entwined with so-called bobbin threads.
Unlike lace, which was initially made by hand, tulle was made from the very beginning on special tulle machines. High yarn cotton yarn, sometimes dacron, nylon fibers, is used as the material of the threads. As for the manufacture of fabric with a pattern, for this use bulk yarns (belan, melan), viscose or yarn.
It is interesting that today more expensive types of tulle continue to be used as inserts on silk nighties, expensive underwear and even in the decoration of wedding dresses, but some unknowingly confuse it with lace or tulle.
Seeing the tulle
Tulle is distinguished by color and the presence or absence of a pattern.
So, in color, they distinguish color, white tulle or motley. The most common is a white shade or plain pastel colors.
As for the manufacturing method, there are two varieties of this material: smooth and patterned tulle.
Initially, the whole tulle was smooth, but as the technology for its manufacture improved, the craftswomen learned to weave entertaining patterns on the tulle fabric. As for the simplest difference between these types, it is worth remembering that the smooth one is made on the basis of two systems of threads, while the more complex - patterned - consists of three thread systems.
Where did the name “tulle” come from in Russian?
This word, like many other names of fabrics, originated in France. Although tulle was originally made in the UK in the second half of the 18th century, this material gained popularity and popularity thanks to the inhabitants of the small French town of Tulle.
It was they in the XIX century. became the largest manufacturers in Europe of this delicate and elegant material, which was later named after the city itself. This name, almost unchanged, migrated to most languages. So, in English it is called tulle, in German - tüll, in Polish - tiul, in Spanish - tul, Belarusian - "tulle", and in Russian - "tulle".
Tulle: what kind of word is this
For many, it will be a surprise, but the “tulle” is not at all feminine, as many believe, but masculine.
In other words, it is right to say not “what a beautiful tulle is in your house”, but “you have a very beautiful tulle”.
The reason that a word that has most of the feminine attributes of the Russian language, however, does not apply to it, is that in French tulle it is a masculine noun. And if you recall that at the beginning of the XIX century. Since the entire elite of the Russian Empire spoke excellent French, and sometimes much better than their native language, it becomes clear that the masculine gender was assigned to the word by analogy with the original source.
Error story with the word "tulle"
This material came to the Russian Empire from France, and soon its French name tulle became familiar to the hearing of Russians. Despite the fact that Russian linguistic scholars have determined that “tulle” is a masculine noun, the common people and merchants who sold this elegant material simply did not know all these subtleties. Therefore, they declined this name by analogy with the words “pain”, “night”, “daughter” and the like, and also based on the fact that tulle is a fabric, it turns out “she”, and not “he”.
After the revolution, most of those who knew that “tulle” is a masculine noun were forced to emigrate to Europe or America. And it turned out that in the minds of most of the remaining inhabitants of the USSR, the opinion was fixed that this name refers to the female genus.
The declension of the word "tulle" in cases
Having learned that this name of the fabric refers to the male gender, we are wondering how to properly incline it. In order not to make mistakes and not to memorize the correct forms of a given noun in different cases, you can just remember that you can bow the name "tulle" by analogy with the word "piano", and not only in the singular, but also in the plural.
Today, thanks to the development of digital technologies in an emergency, everyone can check the spelling of an unknown word using a smartphone using a special grammar application. However, it is best not to blindly rely on technology, but to remember the most common exceptions to the rules. In particular, the fact that not only the word “coffee” (drink) is masculine, but also the name of light, transparent, French fabric is “tulle”.