MooT Question Icon
It was coined by combining the French words for hook and velvet; what synthetic material is it?



Etymology, Etymology, and more Etymology
as well as grammar, usage, euphemism, slang, jargon, semantics (meaning), linguistics, neologism, idiom, word origin, syntax, dialect, lexicon (vocabulary), diction, pidgin, synonym, antonym, homonym, cant, argot, lingo, and redundancy.

A picture of a moot game

The critically-acclaimed board game MooT consists of tough questions about the nuances of the English language.
To join our mailing list and get free brain-twisting MooT questions sent to you irregularly, enter your email address and then press submit.

E-Mail address:



Back to home page


Answer: velcro

Fascinated by the microstructure of burs ? their hook-like snags can attach to passing objects ? Swiss engineer George de Mestral invented a hook-and-eye material.

He named it velours croche, hooked velvet, which eventually came to be called Velcro .


Please note that these are draft questions for the board game MooT.
If you spot an error or disagree with anything I've said here,
please let me know and I'll fix it.
(the Mootguy)

Copyright 1998-2008 Blair Arts Ltd. All rights reserved.