tweed [M19th] Tweed was originally produced in Scotland, where it was called tweel, a Scots form of twill [ME], a word based on *two and like twine [OE] indicating two-ply yarn. Around 1830 a cloth merchant misread this as tweed, a mistake perpetuated by association with the River Tweed, part of which forms the border between England and Scotland. Tweed is traditionally worn by the English country gentry, and tweedy has been used since the early 20th century to suggest a robust, traditional kind of Englishness.