BUCKRAM

I. noun Etymology: Middle English bukeram, from Anglo-French bokeram, from Old French bougherant, probably ultimately from Bokhara (Bukhara, Uzbekistan) Date: 15th century a stiff-finished heavily sized fabric of cotton or linen used for interlinings in garments, for stiffening in millinery, and in bookbinding, stiffness, rigidity , II. adjective Date: circa 1589 suggesting ~ especially in stiffness, III. transitive verb Date: 1783 to give strength or stiffness to (as with ~), to make pretentious