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Silk   /sɪlk/   Listen
noun
Silk  n.  
1.
The fine, soft thread produced by various species of caterpillars in forming the cocoons within which the worm is inclosed during the pupa state, especially that produced by the larvae of Bombyx mori.
2.
Hence, thread spun, or cloth woven, from the above-named material.
3.
That which resembles silk, as the filiform styles of the female flower of maize.
Raw silk, silk as it is wound off from the cocoons, and before it is manufactured.
Silk cotton, a cottony substance enveloping the seeds of the silk-cotton tree.
Silk-cotton tree (Bot.), a name for several tropical trees of the genera Bombax and Eriodendron, and belonging to the order Bombaceae. The trees grow to an immense size, and have their seeds enveloped in a cottony substance, which is used for stuffing cushions, but can not be spun.
Silk flower. (Bot.)
(a)
The silk tree.
(b)
A similar tree (Calliandra trinervia) of Peru.
Silk fowl (Zool.), a breed of domestic fowls having silky plumage.
Silk gland (Zool.), a gland which secretes the material of silk, as in spider or a silkworm; a sericterium.
Silk gown, the distinctive robe of a barrister who has been appointed king's or queen's counsel; hence, the counsel himself. Such a one has precedence over mere barristers, who wear stuff gowns. (Eng.)
Silk grass (Bot.), a kind of grass (Stipa comata) of the Western United States, which has very long silky awns. The name is also sometimes given to various species of the genera Aqave and Yucca.
Silk moth (Zool.), the adult moth of any silkworm. See Silkworm.
Silk shag, a coarse, rough-woven silk, like plush, but with a stiffer nap.
Silk spider (Zool.), a large spider (Nephila plumipes), native of the Southern United States, remarkable for the large quantity of strong silk it produces and for the great disparity in the sizes of the sexes.
Silk thrower, Silk throwster, one who twists or spins silk, and prepares it for weaving.
Silk tree (Bot.), an Asiatic leguminous tree (Albizzia Julibrissin) with finely bipinnate leaves, and large flat pods; so called because of the abundant long silky stamens of its blossoms. Also called silk flower.
Silk vessel. (Zool.) Same as Silk gland, above.
Virginia silk (Bot.), a climbing plant (Periploca Graeca) of the Milkweed family, having a silky tuft on the seeds. It is native in Southern Europe.





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"Silk" Quotes from Famous Books



... United Provinces themselves one of the features of this period was the growth of many new industries and manufactures, largely due to the influx of Huguenot refugees, many of whom were skilled artisans. Not only did the manufacturers of cloth and silk employ a large number of hands, but also those of hats, gloves, ribbons, trimmings, laces, clocks and other articles, which had hitherto been chiefly produced in France. One of the consequences of the rapid increase of ...
— History of Holland • George Edmundson
 
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... black lace gown of Paris make. Next she opened a box and took from it a picture hat, with long jet plumes, which she stroked and pressed fondly against her face. There were other garments also—a silken petticoat, silk stockings, and a pair of high-heeled shoes to match, with certain other delicate and dainty things which she modestly forbore to inspect before the Frenchman, who said no word, but only gazed at ...
— The Barrier • Rex Beach
 
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... two o'clock that afternoon, sitting sideways on Modestine, jaw tied up, veiled and sun-hatted, with Aggie's flowered-silk bag hanging to one wrist and a lunch-basket on the other arm. Tish and I saw "her" down the hill and ...
— More Tish • Mary Roberts Rinehart
 
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... vanity of the wearer, this tunic was made of more or less costly materials; for wool and flax was often substituted the finest byssus, or other silky substance; and perhaps, in the latter periods, amongst families of distinction in Jerusalem, even silk itself. Splendor of coloring was not neglected; and the opening at the throat was eagerly turned to account as an occasion for displaying fringe or ...
— Theological Essays and Other Papers v2 • Thomas de Quincey
 
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... of honor that Severin has, it is after all a strange thing for him to go about in the churchyard with such a decoration on—in the place where we see what we are all coming to, whether in our lifetime we have worn clothes of silk or of homespun. It annoyed me to see him wear it in the church—a thing of that kind ought to be taken off when one goes to church, and ...
— The German Classics of The Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, Vol. VIII • Various
 
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