silk

Meaning

Noun

1. (uncountable) A fine fiber excreted by the silkworm or other arthropod (such as a spider).
2. (countable, uncountable) A fine, soft cloth woven from silk fibers.
3. (countable, uncountable) Anything which resembles silk, such as the filiform styles of the female flower of maize, or the seed covering of bombaxes.
4. (countable, uncountable) The gown worn by a Senior (i.e. Queen's/King's) Counsel.
5. (colloquial, countable, uncountable) A Queen's Counsel, King's Counsel or Senior Counsel.
6. (countable, in-plural, uncountable) A pair of long silk sheets suspended in the air on which a performer performs tricks.
7. (countable, plural-normally, uncountable) The garments worn by a jockey displaying the colors of the horse's owner.

Verb

To remove the silk from (corn).

Synonyms

silken

silky

of silk

silk-

linen

hair

silk cloth

cotton

light

linseed

muslin

natural silk

nylon

old

🧓

pongee

rayon

reins

ribbon

🎀

sarcenet

satin

silk cord

silk hat

silks

silk thread

strap

textile

tissue

embroidery thread

filamentus

sarsenet

a silk gown

thin silk

brocade

cocoon fiber

chiffon

clothing

coarse

etc.

fabric

filament

hemp

Translations

soie

seda

Seide

seta

seda

zijde

μετάξι

ipek

seda

حرير

zij

👩

seda

soyeux

seiden

Pronounced as (IPA)

/sɪlk/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: silk

Inherited from Old English: sioloc

Cognate with Old Norse: silki

Cognate with Danish: silke

Cognate with Swedish: silke

Cognate with Russian: шёлк

Cognate with Lithuanian: zilkaĩ

Cognate with Chinese: 絲

In summary

From Middle English silk, sylk, selk, selc, from Old English sioloc, seoloc, seolc (“silk”). The immediate source is uncertain; it probably reached English via the Baltic trade routes (cognates in Old Norse silki (> Danish silke, Swedish silke (“silk”)), Russian шёлк (šolk), obsolete Lithuanian zilkai̇̃), all ultimately from Late Latin sēricus, from Ancient Greek σηρικός (sērikós), ultimately from an Oriental language (represented now by e.g. Chinese 絲 /丝 (sī, “silk”)). Compare Seres. Doublet of seric and serge.