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Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
horsehair
noun
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Fillings used include natural fibres such as cashmere, lamb's wool, horsehair and felt and synthetic materials like polyester.
▪ Geoffrey sat on the rather hard horsehair settee.
▪ On a thin horsehair mattress rested one sheet, one pillow and one blanket.
▪ Rory fell on to his side; the shotgun roared and the rear of the couch blew open in a dusty horsehair explosion.
▪ She had to sit in the waiting-room, on a slippery horsehair sofa, while it was going on.
▪ She sat on a chaiselongue, elegant lines and the comfortless gentility of horsehair beneath an antique sateen.
▪ The more important members of the staff had wooden beds and horsehair mattresses.
▪ The room was filled with tables, knick-knacks, chairs, and a large horsehair three-piece suite.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Horsehair

Horsehair \Horse"hair`\, n. A hair of a horse, especially one from the mane or tail; the hairs of the mane or tail taken collectively; Specifically: a black shiny fabric made of such hairs, used commonly in the 1800's as a covering for stuffed furniture such as chairs and couches.

Horsehair worm (Zo["o]l.), the hair worm or gordius.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
horsehair

late 14c., from horse (n.) + hair.

Wiktionary
horsehair

n. 1 The hair of a horse, especially from the mane and tail, used for upholstery. 2 A fabric made from this.

WordNet
horsehair
  1. n. hair taken from the mane or tail of a horse

  2. fabric made from horsehair fibers; used for upholstery

Wikipedia
Horsehair

Horsehair is the long, coarse hair growing on the manes and tails of horses. It is used for various purposes, including upholstery, brushes, the bows of musical instruments, a hard-wearing fabric called haircloth, and for horsehair plaster, a wallcovering material formerly used in the construction industry and now found only in older buildings.

Horsehair can be very stiff or very fine and flexible; mane hair is generally softer and shorter than tail hair. The texture of horsehair can be influenced by the breed and management of the horse, including natural conditions such as diet or climate. Processing may also affect quality and feel.

Horsehair is a protein fiber that absorbs water slowly, but can be dyed or colored effectively using traditional dyes suitable for protein fibers. It can be felted, but not easily.

Usage examples of "horsehair".

A glass filament, not thicker than a horsehair, and from a quarter to threequarters of an inch in length, was affixed to the part to be observed by means of shellac dissolved in alcohol.

There was a sofa in the room, but it was horsehair, with high ends both alike, not comfortable, which were covered with curious complications called antimacassars, that slipped off directly they were touched, so that anybody who leaned upon them was engaged continually in warfare with them, picking them up from the floor or spreading them out again.

Using his knee as a fulcrum, Garric curved the thick bowstaff and hooked the string of waxed horsehair to the upper notch, readying the weapon for use.

Moving slowly, Malar inserted the noose of horsehair into the water, behind the fish.

Reminiscent of the immortal Tartarin, his ready bureau furnished him with a stiff black moustache and some specially stout horsehair to typify the stubbly beard of that hero.

The original eleven legions numbered between the Fifth Alauda and the Fifteenth contributed these five thousand veterans, kitted in new tunics, with new horsehair plumes in their helmets, and carrying staves wreathed in laurelsactual weapons were not allowed.

The wilted, damp hay strewn over the floor gave off a musty smell that reminded Calliste of wet horsehair.

Horsehair braid crowns are beautiful when shaped over a wire foundation.

The furniture, a horsehair sofa, two Victorian armchairs with leather seats, a gateleg table, had apparently been rejected from the Manor proper.

The yellow horsehair plumes of the centurions seemed to glow, and the column of the Helvetii staggered below on the plain as men pointed and shouted a warning.

Then Kiku laid out other rings for the man to wear, ivory or elastic or silken rings with nodules or bristles or ribbons or attachments and appendages of every kind, made of ivory or horsehair or seeds or even tiny bells.

It was only when I came to change again, onto the branch line at the small station of Homerby, that I began to be less comfortable, for here the air was a great deal colder and blowing in gusts from the east with an unpleasant rain upon its breath, and the train in which I was to travel for the last hour of my journey was one of those with ancient, comfortless carriages upholstered in the stiffest of leathercloth over unyielding horsehair, and with slatted wooden racks above.

I was weary after eating, and went into the parlour behind the bar, and slept on a black horsehair sofa I found there.

Lily scraped her fingernails across the horsehair underside of the unsteady little side chair on which she sat.

But these masks were different, for they were made in the likeness of black bone skulls, from which grew black, coarse plaited manes of horsehair.