Definition of "haircloth" [hair•cloth]

• A wiry fabric woven especially from horsehair or camel's hair, used for upholstering and for stiffening garments. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "“But how can we appear before him, clad as we are in haircloth reeking with sulphur?”"
• "St. Louis of France: and other pious princes dressed themselves in haircloth and crept to the cross barefoot."
• "The water and foam are drawn off, and the deposit is thrown into a sack of haircloth, which is placed in a tub and water thrown over it till it runs off without any cloudiness."