Editing Blanket

{{short description|Type of bedding}}
{{Other uses}}
{{see also|comfort object}}
{{protection padlock|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}}

[[File:Lautrec in bed 1893.jpg|thumb|right|''[[Le Lit (Toulouse-Lautrec)|The Bed]]'', 1892 by [[Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec]], depicts two people under a blanket]] 
A '''blanket''' is a swath of soft [[textile|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 [[Thermal conduction|conduction]].

== Etymology ==
The term arose from the generalization of a specific fabric called ''blanke'', a heavily [[nap (textile)|napped]] undyed woolen weave. A popular theory has that the name derives from an eponymous [[Thomas Blanket]] (Blanquette), a [[Flemish people|Flemish]] weaver who lived in [[Bristol]], [[Kingdom of England|England]], in the 14th&nbsp;century.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1901/03/24/archives/origin-of-blanket.html | work=The New York Times | title=Origin of Blanket | date=24 March 1901}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|jstor=1787694 |title=Factors in the Development of the Cotswold Woollen Industry | volume=90 | pages=349–362|last1=Beckinsale |first1=R. P. |journal=The Geographical Journal |year=1937 |issue=4 |doi=10.2307/1787694 |bibcode=1937GeogJ..90..349B }}</ref>
However, earlier usage of the term is possible as a borrowing of the [[Old French language|Old French]] word ''blanket'' for the type of fabric, attested as early as 1278 and deriving from the adjective ''[[wikt:blanc#French|blanc]]'', meaning "white".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cnrtl.fr/etymologie/blanchet |work=[[Trésor de la langue française]] |title=blanchet |publisher=[[CNRTL]]}}</ref> [[William Shakespeare]] is recognised as the first person to use the verb ''blanket'', meaning to 'cover with or as with a blanket'. In the play ''[[King Lear]]'', published in 1608, the character Edgar says: "My face ile grime with filth, Blanket my loynes, else all my haire with knots."<ref>{{Cite news|date=2015-12-25|title=Almost 300 years without a duvet|language=en-GB|publisher=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34848546|access-date=2021-01-28}}</ref>

==History==
An ancient form of blanket is recorded as {{Lang|Sa|"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.<ref>{{Cite book|first=Thomas |last=Watters |url=http://archive.org/details/OnYuanChwangsTravelsInIndia629645AD|title=On Yuan Chwang'S Travels in India, 629-645 A. D.|date=1904|pages=149|language=en|quote="The third group is the kambala. This word, which denotes "woollen cloth" and "a blanket""}}</ref> The [[Sanskrit]] meaning of Kambala is 'a woolen blanket."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Turner |first=R. L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UX_AeDYzhBQC&dq=Kambala+blanket&pg=PA139 |title=A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages |date=1999 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers |isbn=978-81-208-1665-7 |pages=139 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Sanskrit Dictionary|url=https://sanskritdictionary.com/?q=kambala|access-date=2022-02-05|website=sanskritdictionary.com}}</ref> According to India's ancient text, the [[Atharvaveda]], kambala is a generic term for materials such as shawls and blankets.<ref name=":0" /> Known as "Kambali" in Kannada and Tamil, these thick coarse blankets are woven with sheep wool whose texture is extremely coarse and thick to provide adequate warmth in winter.<ref>{{Cite web|title=National Handloom Day Special: Reviving Karnataka's timeless tradition of weaving the 'kambli' to empower Kuruba pastoralists|url=https://thesouthfirst.com/featured/reviving-kambli-weaving-to-empower-kuruba-pastoralist/|access-date=16 July 2024|website=thesouthfirst.com|date=7 August 2023}}</ref>

{{Lang|Sa|Pandu-Kambala}} was a type of Kambala from [[Gandhara|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.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Agrwala|first=V. S.|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.csl.7819|title=India as known to Panini|date=1953|publisher=Banaras Hindu University, Banaras|pages=49, 42, 128}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/handwovenfabrics0000unse|title=Handwoven fabrics of India|date=1989|location=Ahmedabad  |publisher= Mapin Pub.|isbn=978-0-944142-26-4|pages=61, 33}}</ref>

==Types==
{{Unreferenced section|date=December 2015}}
[[File:Monet dejeunersurlherbe.jpg|thumb|''[[Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe (Monet)|Le déjeuner sur l'herbe]]'', (right section) by [[Claude Monet]]]]
[[File:MARCHAND DE COUVERTURES ET SON FOUGON.jpg|thumb|Blanket vendors in a market in Algeria]]
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 (blanket)|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.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o817K419OEUC&q=Blankets+have+been+used+by+military+for+many+centuries&pg=PA17|title=Fashion: A Canadian Perspective|last=Palmer|first=Alexandra|date=2004|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=9780802085900|language=en}}</ref> Militaries are some of the biggest single consumers of woolen blankets. Military blankets tend to be coarse grey, with thick fibers of over 20 [[Wool measurement|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]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ymRNAQAAMAAJ&q=%C2%A0Blankets+are+sometimes+used+as+comfort+objects+by+small+children.|title=I Read where I Am: Exploring New Information Cultures|last1=Gerritzen|first1=Mieke|last2=Lovink|first2=Geert|last3=Kampman|first3=Minke|date=2011|publisher=Graphic Design Museum|isbn=9789078088554|language=en}}</ref>

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==
{{colbegin}}
*[[Bedspread]]
*[[Belted plaid]]
*[[Blanket fort]]
*[[Electric blanket]]
*[[Fire blanket]]
*[[Horse blanket]]
*[[Hudson's Bay point blanket]]
*[[Photo blanket]]
*[[Comfort object]]
*[[Sleeved blanket]]
*[[Sleeping bag]]
*[[Space blanket]]
*[[Wool measurement]]
*[[Melton (cloth)]]
{{colend}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category-inline|Blankets}}
{{Wiktionary-inline|blanket}}

{{Bedding}}

{{SleepSeries2}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Blankets| ]]
[[Category:Bedding]]
[[Category:Insulators]]
[[Category:Furnishings]]