Duffel or Duffle

[Stargzer]

duf·fel or duf·fle (dŭfəl)
n.
1. A blanket fabric made of low-grade woolen cloth with a nap on both sides.

2. Clothing and other personal gear carried by a camper.

3. A duffel bag.

[Dutch, after Duffel, a town in Belgium.]

duffel see duffle

duffle (n.) Look up duffle at Dictionary.com1670s, from Dutch duffel, from Duffel, town in Brabant where the cloth was originally sold. Duffel bag is American English, first recorded 1917 in a letter of e e cummings.

In Use: I hadn't heard the first definition before, only "duffel bag" or "duffel." I've heard the word used in the song Fogarty's Cove by the late Stan Rogers many times and finally looked it up, to find out she wasn't walking around with a wearing a duffel bag on her head!

Come supper time she'll walk the beach wrapped in my old duffel,
With her eyes upon the masthead reach, down in Fogarty's Cove.

[Slava]

Thanks, Stargzer, that was insterestin'.

[Perry Lassiter]

Duffel bags I have owned or seen are almost all heavy denim-like material, occasionally faux leather. Anyone see one of some kind of wool?

Ps- I just chose "kind" over "type." Prob from writing principle of choosing Germanic words over Latin. Usually they are shorter, but not in this case. What are your thought? See Struni and White.

[bbeeton]

I used to have a duffel coat. It was indeed made of coarse, heavy wool, dyed navy blue, had a hood, and was closed with wooden toggles and rope loops. Nice and warm, good for New England winters.

I also used to have a duffel bag. It was made of heavy canvas. I think it was army surplus. It was more or less cylindrical, with a zipper running lengthwise along the side. A strap attached at the bottom end of the zipper went along the zipper, over the far end, attached to the other side, and served as an over-the-shoulder carrying strap.

I've seen the spelling "duffle" more and more often recently, and find it disconcerting.