Blanket
A blanket is a swath of soft cloth large enough either to cover or to enfold most of the user's body and thick enough to keep the body warm by trapping radiant body heat that otherwise would be lost through convection.
Etymology
The term arose from the generalization of a specific fabric called blanke, a heavily
History
An ancient form of blanket is recorded as "Kambala". The 7th century Chinese traveler and scholar Xuanzang mentioned the stuff in his travelogue of his journey to India in 629–645 CE. He refers to "Kambala" as a woolen material made from sheep or goat's hair. He categorized it as a kind of material for clothing.[5] The Sanskrit meaning of Kambala is 'a woolen blanket."[6][7] According to India's ancient text, the Atharvaveda, kambala is a generic term for materials such as shawls and blankets.[8]
Pandu-Kambala was a type of Kambala from Gandhāra, Ancient Indian scholar Pāṇini mentioned "pandu-kambala" from the upper parts of Gandhara, the place was "Uddiyana," which was famous for the said blankets.[9] Some more variations of old Indian blankets are "keca-lakah", "kalamitika", "talicchakam", "varavanah", "sarumitika", "paristomah", "samanatabhad", "turangastaranam", "varnakam", "paristomah", "samanatabhad". Coarse qualities were used by farmers, and herdsmen. Some of them were used to spread out on the backs of animals like horses, elephants, and bullocks.[8]
Types
Many types of blanket material, such as wool, are used because they are thicker and have more substantial fabric to them, but cotton can also be used for light blankets. Wool blankets are warmer and also relatively slow to burn compared to cotton. The most common types of blankets are woven acrylic, knitted polyester, mink, cotton, fleece and wool. Blankets also come with exotic crafting and exotic material such as crocheted afghan or a silk covering. The term blanket is often interchanged with comforter, quilt, and duvet, as they all have similar uses.
Uses
Blankets have been used by militaries for many centuries.[10] Militaries are some of the biggest single consumers of woolen blankets. Military blankets tend to be coarse grey, with thick fibers of over 20 microns.
Special blankets known as baby blankets are used to protect infants from the cold. Small children (and some adults) may also use a blanket as a comfort object.[11]
Blankets may be spread on the ground for a picnic or where people want to sit in a grassy or muddy area without soiling their clothing. Temporary blankets have been designed for this purpose.
See also
References
- ^ "Origin of Blanket". The New York Times. 24 March 1901.
- JSTOR 1787694.
- CNRTL.
- ^ "Almost 300 years without a duvet". BBC News. 25 December 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
- ^ Thomas Watters M.R.A.S. (1904). On Yuan Chwang'S Travels In India, 629-645 A. D. p. 149.
The third group is the kambala. This word, which denotes "woollen cloth" and "a blanket"
- ISBN 978-81-208-1665-7.
- ^ "Sanskrit Dictionary". sanskritdictionary.com. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-944142-26-4.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: others (link - ^ Agrwala, V. S. (1953). India as known to Panini. Banaras Hindu University, Banaras. pp. 49, 42, 128.
- ISBN 9780802085900.
- ISBN 9789078088554.
External links
Media related to Blankets at Wikimedia Commons The dictionary definition of blanket at Wiktionary