buckram n.

early 13c., from Old French boquerant "fine oriental cloth" (12c., Modern French bougran), probably (along with Spanish bucarán, Italian bucherame) from Bukhara, city in central Asia from which it was imported to Europe. Originally a name of a delicate, costly fabric, it later came to mean coarse linen used for lining. The many variations of its spelling in Middle English and Old French indicate confusion over the origin. The -m may indicate that the word arrived in English via Italian.