linoleum

Meanings

1. An inexpensive waterproof covering used especially for floors, made from solidified linseed oil over a burlap or canvas backing, or from its modern replacement, polyvinyl chloride.

Etymology

From Latin līnum (“flax”) + oleum (“oil”). Coined by English manufacturer and inventor Frederick Walton c. 1864 and used as a trade name but never registered as a trademark. It was the first product whose name was ruled to be genericized.