corduroy

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)A heavy fabric, usually made of cotton, with vertical ribs.

   “Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke.[…]A silver snaffle on a heavy leather watch guard which connected the pockets of his corduroy waistcoat, together with a huge gold stirrup in his Ascot tie, sufficiently proclaimed his tastes.”

   “We turned to see a muscular young man lounging in the door which led into the sitting-room. He wore green corduroy trousers, a duffle coat and an old school tie.”

2. (Ireland, countable, obsolete, slang, uncountable)Cheap and poor-quality whiskey.

   “Another description of what would be termed adulterated spirits, is by the vulgar termed "Corduroy," on account of the rough feeling which it imparts to the tongue and palate.”

3. (countable, uncountable)A pattern on snow resulting from the use of a snow groomer to pack snow and improve skiing, snowboarding and snowmobile trail conditions. Corduroy is widely regarded as a good surface on which to ski or ride.

adj

1. (not-comparable)Of a road, path, etc., paved with split or round logs laid crosswise side by side.

   “Swamps had to be crossed by means of corduroy causeways; made by cutting down trees and laying them horizontally on the quivering mass of boggy ground.”

verb

1. To make (a road) by laying down split logs or tree-trunks over a marsh, swamp etc.

   “The night was very dark and it rained heavily, the roads were so bad that the troops had to cut trees and corduroy the road a part of the way, to get through.”

   “But Sherman organized “pioneer battalions” of soldiers and freedmen […] to cut saplings and trees to corduroy the roads, build bridges, and construct causeways.”