() was a Spanish term for various types of fabrics or fabric products in the Middle Ages. was derived from the Arabic term , that signified heavy cotton and woolen materials. Initially meaning a heavy cloth, by the 15th century it had come to mean a luxurious cloth made of silk. Along with terms such as , , and , was also used to mean a type of table- or altar-cloth. In the 17th century, the term was revived to mean a twill weave woolen material similar to moleskin.