Crapaud is a French word meaning "toad" in English.
Heraldry
Crapaud is sometimes used as an incorrect reference to the Fleur-de-lys on the ancient heraldic flag of the kings of France. The three fleurs-de-lys were sometimes misinterpreted as "three toads erect, saltant", instead of "three lily flowers".
Fictional character
The word crapaud is used extensively by Richard Sharpe as a derogatory term for the French , the fictional character depicted in Bernard Cornwell's novels set during the Napoleonic Wars.
Jean Crapaud
Jean Crapaud, also Johnny Crappeau or Johnny Crappo, defined by Webster's Online Dictionary, "is a jocose name given to a Frenchman. It is intended as a national personification of the French people as a whole in much the same sense as John Bull is to the English. It is sometimes used as a literary device to refer to a typical Frenchman, usually in the form of Monsieur Jean Crapaud." The usage of the word "crapaud" in this case is similar to the derogative use of the word "frog," referencing the supposed French affinity for frog legs as a delicacy, and thus considered to be a slur and derogative.
Nomex is a registered trademark for flame-resistant meta-aramid material developed in the early 1960s by DuPont and first marketed in 1967.
Properties
Nomex and related aramid polymers are related to nylon, but have aromatic backbones, and hence are more rigid and more durable. Nomex is the premier example of a meta variant of the aramids (Kevlar is a para aramid). Unlike Kevlar, Nomex cannot align during filament formation and has poorer strength. However, it has excellent thermal, chemical, and radiation resistance for a polymer material.
Production
The polymer is produced by condensation reaction from the monomers m-phenylenediamine and isophthaloyl chloride.
It is sold in both fiber and sheet forms and is used as a fabric wherever resistance from heat and flame is required. Nomex sheet is actually a calendered paper and made in a similar fashion. Nomex Type 410 paper is the original and one of the larger grade types made, mostly for electrical insulation purposes. Nomex fiber is made in the USA and in Spain(Asturias).