As every article about duck canvas will quickly tell you, it has nothing to do with waterfowl. The name instead comes from the Dutch word for linen cloth, “doek”, and was originally used for ship sails and tents due to its durability resistance to water and fire.
In the mid-1800s, mills like Mount Vernon Mill in Maryland upped their duck canvas production and people began utilizing the fabric for other goods like bags and clothing. Duck became especially popular amongst miners and other manual laborers who needed their work clothes to be comfortable but able to withstand heavy wear and tear.
Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis actually made their first pairs of riveted jeans from duck canvas, they didn’t switch over to denim until a few years later.