[F., f. torcher to wipe.] The French word for a duster or dish-cloth: used attrib. in torchon board, a board covered with torchon paper, used in water-color drawing; torchon lace (also abbreviated torchon, pl. -ons), a coarse bobbin lace, of loose texture; torchon mat, a picture-frame mat (MAT sb.2 3) made of torchon paper; torchon paper, a kind of paper with a rough surface, used for water-color drawing and for picture-frame mats.
1879. Mrs. A. E. James, Ind. Househ. Managem., 10. But laces certainly would not, not even the ‘Torchon’ now so much in vogue: the very first wash they are torn, look ragged and unsightly.
1891. Times, 1 Oct., 9/3. Operations in torchon and cheap Maltese laces are still on a small scale.
1908. Athenæum, 16 Feb., 198/3. From Russian lace to torchon is not a wide step, but the latter is superior, shading off … into Maltese.
