Definition of floss

The word "floss" originally referred to a type of something entirely different than dental hygiene - it was used to describe the waste material left behind after weaving fabrics. In fact, the term "floss" is a shortened version of the word "floss silk," which was derived from the French word "floche," meaning "tuft" or "lock of fleece." During the Industrial Revolution in the late 1800s, companies began manufacturing synthetic materials to replace silk as a weaving thread. This synthetic thread, as it came out of the weaving machine, had a similar texture and shape to the fluff left behind on the loom after weaving. Hence, this string of synthetic waste material came to be known as "floss." It wasn't until the 1960s that the term "floss" came into use as a dental interdental cleaner. This was the decade when American dentist Dr. Norman Wide introduced a practical and affordable dental interdental cleaner made out of unwaxed polyethylene thread, whose texture and appearance resembled the Industrial Revolution-era synthetic thread. Dr Wide coined and registered the term "floss" in 1960 as the name of this dental interdental cleaner. So, that's how the word "floss" officially made its transition from the world of textiles to dental hygiene.