means A strong, synthetic polymer fiber used in everything from stockings and ropes to gears and parachutes.

from A coined trade name from DuPont in the 1930s, deliberately invented rather than derived from older roots. The popular story that NYLON stands for 'Now You Lousy Old Nippon' (a wartime jab at Japan) is folk myth — the word was created before the war. DuPont's chemists tried various spellings (reportedly 'nuron,' then 'nilon') before settling on 'nylon,' partly echoing earlier fiber names like 'rayon' and 'cotton.' The truth is plainer than the legends: it's a manufactured word for a manufactured thread.