What does chiffon mean?
Word: Chiffon
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Chiffon means a very light, sheer fabric, usually of silk or nylon, that drapes softly.
Word origin: From French chiffe, through the French word chiffon.
How do you spell chiffon?
Syllables: chif - fon
Tricky part: The word starts with an sh sound but is spelt with ch, a habit it brought from French, so students write shiffon.
Watch out for: shiffon, schiffon, chiffan
Memory tip: Chef opens with the same French ch as this fabric, so let one word call up the other.
Chiffon in a sentence
Example 1: Meera's aunt wore a sea-green chiffon sari to the school's annual day.
Example 2: A hot iron can ruin chiffon, so the tailor pressed it on a low setting.
Example 3: Layers of pale pink chiffon made the dancer's costume ripple as she turned.
Fun Fact
The soft chiffon cake, first baked in the USA in the 1920s, shares its name with this fabric because both feel so delicate.
Practise the CREST Way
Back to the Roots
Choose the correct option to complete the sentence:
Chiffon comes from the French word chiffe, which means ___.
a) rag
b) veil
c) breeze
d) thread
Show answer
a) rag. A humble scrap of old cloth gave this fine fabric its name.
Spellacadabra
Choose the correct option to make a meaningful word:
chi__on
a) ff
b) gh
c) ph
d) ft
Show answer
a) ff. The same pair sits in the middle of coffee and muffin.
Jumble Tumble
Which option has letters that you can rearrange to form the name of a fabric?
a) aeftft
b) fnfchoi
c) lsnuimo
d) nzgaro
Show answer
b) fnfchoi. These letters make chiffon; each of the others is one letter out from a fabric name.
Word Tally
How many words are misspelt in the given sentence?
Grandmother folded the pale chiffon scarf carefully and tucked a sachet of fragrant lavender between its layers.
a) 3
b) 0
c) 1
d) 2
Show answer
b) 0. Every word is spelt correctly here, even sachet with its silent t.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Why do tailors often sew a lining under a chiffon dress?
a) the cloth is too heavy to hang well
b) the cloth shrinks at every single wash
c) the cloth lets a lot of light through
d) the cloth is too warm for summer days
Show answer
c) the cloth lets a lot of light through
2. Which pair of words best describes how a chiffon scarf moves in a breeze?
a) airy and floaty
b) thick and firm
c) stiff and heavy
d) rough and scratchy
Show answer
a) airy and floaty
