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/ˈæl.nə.dʒɚ/
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alnagers
An alnager was a historical English official responsible for inspecting and measuring cloth—especially woolen cloth—to ensure it met legal standards of length and quality; think of them as medieval textile quality control officers appointed by royal authority.
In 14th-century England, every major town had an alnager to regulate the cloth trade.
The alnager stamped approved bolts of cloth with an official seal to certify their length and quality.
Records from the Exchequer show payments made to the king's alnager for quarterly inspections.
Without the alnager's certification, merchants could not legally sell cloth in London markets.
The office of alnager gradually faded after the 17th century as centralized textile regulation declined.
alnage
Comes from Middle English 'alnage', derived from Old French 'alnage' (measurement of cloth), itself from 'alne' meaning 'ell' — a unit of length (approx. 45 inches), ultimately from Latin 'ulna' (elbow, forearm, used as a measure). The root conveys the concept of standardized measurement, especially of textiles. Examples include alnage, alnager, ell, ulna, alnager's office.