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velvet

 [vel-vit]   Origin

vel·vet

   [vel-vit]
noun
1.
a fabric of silk, nylon, acetate, rayon, etc., sometimes having a cotton backing, with a thick, soft pile formed of loops of the warp thread either cut at the outer end or left uncut.
2.
something likened to the fabric velvet, as in softness or texture: the velvet of her touch; the velvet of the lawn.
3.
the soft, deciduous covering of a growing antler.
4.
Informal. a very pleasant, luxurious, desirable situation.
5.
Informal.
a.
money gained through gambling; winnings.
b.
clear gain or profit, especially when more than anticipated.
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adjective
6.
Also, vel·vet·ed. made of velvet or covered with velvet.
7.
Also, vel·vet·like. resembling or suggesting velvet; smooth; soft; velvety: a velvet night; a cat's velvet fur.

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Velvet is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
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Origin:
1275–1325; Middle English velvet, veluet, veluwet < Old French veluotte, equivalent to velu (< Medieval Latin vil(l)ūtus; Latin vill(us) shaggy nap (compare villus) + Late Latin -ūtus for Latin -ātus -ate1) + -otte noun suffix
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
velvet (ˈvɛlvɪt)
 
—n
1.  a.  a fabric of silk, cotton, nylon, etc, with a thick close soft usually lustrous pile
 b.  (as modifier): velvet curtains
2.  anything with a smooth soft surface
3.  a.  smoothness; softness
 b.  (as modifier): velvet skin; a velvet night
4.  the furry covering of the newly formed antlers of a deer
5.  slang chiefly (US)
 a.  gambling or speculative winnings
 b.  a gain, esp when unexpectedly high
6.  velvet glove gentleness or caution, often concealing strength or determination (esp in the phrase an iron fistorhand in a velvet glove)
 
[C14: veluet, from Old French veluotte, from velu hairy, from Vulgar Latin villutus (unattested), from Latin villus shaggy hair]
 
'velvet-like
 
—adj
 
'velvety
 
—adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

velvet
1320, probably from O.Prov. veluet, from V.L. *villutittus, dim. of V.L. villutus "velvet," lit. "shaggy cloth," from L. villus "shaggy hair, nap of cloth, tuft of hair," probably a dialectal variant of vellus "fleece."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

velvet

see under iron hand.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Idioms & Phrases
iron hand
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