黏在東西上、要清掉的細毛
這一支就是核心畫面本身：纖維掉下來，跑到不該在的地方。
noun · B2
Tiny soft bits of thread and fibre that come off cloth such as cotton or wool, and that collect on clothes, in pockets, and inside machines like a tumble dryer.
棉絮；衣物棉屑
核心畫面
One way to hold this word: think of the tiny loose fibres that come off cloth. They are small, they are soft, and they end up somewhere you did not put them. Depending on who is looking at them, the same little fibres are rubbish to be cleaned away, material to be collected and used, or a crop to be sold.
可以想成布上掉下來的那些細小纖維：很小、很軟，最後出現在你沒放它的地方。有趣的是，同樣這些小纖維，看的人不同，身分就…更多收起
可以想成布上掉下來的那些細小纖維：很小、很軟，最後出現在你沒放它的地方。有趣的是，同樣這些小纖維，看的人不同，身分就不同——在洗衣間是要清掉的垃圾，在急救箱是收集起來用的材料，在棉花產業是整批要賣的貨。lint 的各種用法，就像都從這一小撮纖維長出來的。From the word’s history
From Middle English lynet, linet, from Old French linette (grain of flax), a diminutive of lin (flax); or from Medieval Latin linteum, from Latin linum (flax). The word has meant fine fibre from cloth from the start.
來自中古英語 lynet、linet，再往前是古法文 linette（亞麻籽），是 lin（亞麻）的小詞；另一條路線是中世紀拉丁文 linteum、拉丁文 līnum（亞麻）。這個字從一開始講的就是布料上的細纖維。
Wiktionary entry lint, etymology 1 and 2 (packet evidence, source_refs kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:971090527 and 971108531)
Two branches
收集起來當材料用的棉纖維
同樣一撮纖維，換成有人專門把它收起來，它就變成材料而不是垃圾。
noun · C2
In cotton growing and the cotton trade, the thick coat of fibres that grows around the seeds of the cotton plant, and those same fibres after they have been cleaned and are ready to be pressed into bales.
棉纖維；皮棉