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silk

 [silk]   Origin

silk

   [silk]
noun
1.
the soft, lustrous fiber obtained as a filament from the cocoon of the silkworm.
2.
thread made from this fiber.
3.
cloth made from this fiber.
4.
a garment of this cloth.
5.
a gown of such material worn distinctively by a King's or Queen's Counsel at the English bar.
EXPAND
6.
silks, the blouse and peaked cap, considered together, worn by a jockey or sulky driver in a race.
7.
Informal. a parachute, especially one opened aloft.
8.
any fiber or filamentous matter resembling silk, as a filament produced by certain spiders, the thread of a mollusk, or the like.
9.
the hairlike styles on an ear of corn.
10.
British Informal.
a.
a King's or Queen's Counsel.
b.
any barrister of high rank.
COLLAPSE
adjective
11.
made of silk.
12.
resembling silk; silky.
13.
of or pertaining to silk.

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Silk is one of our favorite verbs.
So is yaff. Does it mean:
to bark; yelp.
to introduce subtleties into or argue subtly about.
LEARN MORE FUN, UNUSUAL VERBS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
verb (used without object)
14.
(of corn) to be in the course of developing silk.
Idioms
15.
hit the silk, Slang. to parachute from an aircraft; bail out.
16.
take silk, British. to become a Queen's or King's Counsel.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English (noun); Old English sioloc, seol(o)c (cognate with Old Norse silki), by uncertain transmission < Greek sērikón silk, noun use of neuter of sērikós silken, literally, Chinese, derivative of Sêres the Chinese (Russian shëlk, OPruss silkas (genitive) “silk” appear to be < Gmc); compare seric-

Related forms
silk·like, adjective
half-silk, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To silk
Collins
World English Dictionary
silk (sɪlk)
 
—n
1.  the very fine soft lustrous fibre produced by a silkworm to make its cocoon
2.  a.  thread or fabric made from this fibre
 b.  (as modifier): a silk dress
3.  a garment made of this
4.  a very fine fibre produced by a spider to build its web, nest, or cocoon
5.  the tuft of long fine styles on an ear of maize
6.  (Brit)
 a.  the gown worn by a Queen's (or King's) Counsel
 b.  informal a Queen's (or King's) Counsel
 c.  take silk to become a Queen's (or King's) Counsel
 
—vb
7.  (US), (Canadian) (intr) (of maize) to develop long hairlike styles
 
[Old English sioluc; compare Old Norse silki, Greek sērikon, Korean sir; all ultimately from Chinese ssǔ silk]
 
'silklike
 
—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

silk
O.E. sioloc, seoloc "silk," ultimately from an Asian word (cf. Chinese si "silk," Manchurian sirghe, Mongolian sirkek) borrowed into Gk. as serikos "silken," serikon "silk" (cf. Gk. Seres, a name for an oriental people from whom the Greeks got silk). The use of -l- instead of -r- in the Balto-Slavic
EXPAND
form of the word (cf. O.C.S. shelku, Lith. silkai) apparently passed into English via the Baltic trade and may reflect a Chinese dialectal form, or a Slavic alteration of the Gk. word. Also found in O.N. silki but not elsewhere in Gmc. Western cultivation began 552 C.E., when agents from Byzantium impersonating monks smuggled silkworms and mulberry leaves out of China. In ref to the "hair" of corn, c.1662, Amer.Eng. Silken is O.E. seolcen; silky is attested from 1611. Silkworm is O.E. seolcwyrm. Figurative use of silk-stocking (adj.) for "wealthy" is attested from 1798, Amer.Eng. Silk-screen is first attested 1930.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
silk   (sĭlk)  Pronunciation Key 

  1. A fiber produced by silkworms to form cocoons. Silk is strong, flexible, and fibrous, and is essentially a long continuous strand of protein. It is widely used to make thread and fabric.

  2. A substance similar to the silk of the silkworm but produced by other insect larvae or by spiders to spin webs.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary

silk definition


  1. n.
    a Caucasian. (Black.) : He told his mama that if she doesn't treat him better, he's gonna bring some silk home for dinner and let her see what the neighbors think.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Easton
Bible Dictionary

Silk definition


Heb. demeshek, "damask," silk cloth manufactured at Damascus, Amos 3:12. A.V., "in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus in a couch;" R.V., "in the corner of a couch, and on the silken cushions of a bed" (marg., "in Damascus on a bed"). Heb. meshi, (Ezek. 16:10, 13, rendered "silk"). In Gen. 41:42 (marg. A.V.), Prov. 31:22 (R.V., "fine linen"), the word "silk" ought to be "fine linen." Silk was common in New Testament times (Rev. 18:12).

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

silk

see can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear; smooth as silk.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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