corduroy
A heavy fabric, usually made of cotton, with vertical ribs.
ˈkɔːdəɹɔɪ/<a:RP>Documented since 1750sSilenthistoricalCurrent137 viewsLast reviewed Jun 29, 2026+ Add a definition
Etymology timeline
Born ~1756 · 1 year of recorded use18th centurySee decade cohort →
Seen in the wild
Definitions
#1·Apr 26, 2026
A heavy fabric, usually made of cotton, with vertical ribs.
We turned to see a muscular young man lounging in the door which led into the sitting-room. He wore green corduroy trousers, a duffle coat and an old school tie.
Origin: Origin . Probably from . Probably not from French *corde du roi, which is unattested in French, where the term for the corduroy is velours côtelé. Possibly from cordesoy from corde de soie, named for example in a 1756 advertisement for clothing fabrics; see Wikipedia article, and comparable in language form to the contemporary serg(e)dusoys, see Serge (fabric). Origin information sourced from Wiktionary contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Was this helpful?
Comments
#2·Apr 26, 2026
A pattern on snow resulting from the use of a snow groomer to pack snow and improve skiing, snowboarding and snowmobile trail conditions. Corduroy is widely regarded as a good surface on which to ski or ride.
Heard in the wild
Was this helpful?
Comments
#3·Apr 26, 2026
(obsolete, Ireland, slang) Cheap and poor-quality whiskey.
Another description of what would be termed adulterated spirits, is by the vulgar termed "Corduroy," on account of the rough feeling which it imparts to the tongue and palate.
Was this helpful?
Comments
Have a better definition?
Add your own interpretation of "corduroy".
⚡About Tech, Dev & AI slang
The vocabulary of software engineers, AI researchers, and anyone living in a terminal or on GitHub — from LLM to MCP, CORS to vibe coding, agentic to enshittification.
See all Tech, Dev & AI slang on Slangora.
Tags
Other words near "corduroy" (C)
coral vinecorbiecorbie-messengerCorbincor blimeycordialCorecorecorecorecore arccorecore checkcorecore codedcorecore energy
Browse all slang words starting with C.