Meaning

noun a thermoplastic polyamide; a family of strong resilient synthetic fibers

noun a synthetic fabric

originCoined by the company DuPont in 1938. According to the company, the name was formed from the random generic syllable nyl- + the common fiber suffix -on (as in rayon and Dacron), said to be ultimately from cotton.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0