Silk Meaning
/sɪlk/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA fine fiber excreted by the silkworm or other arthropod (such as a spider).
nounA fine, soft cloth woven from silk fibers.
Sentence Examples
We deal in silk goods.
The dress is of silk.
The caterpillar spins the silk around its entire body.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The luxurious dress was made of ____, a natural fiber produced by silkworms.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The expensive dress was made from genuine ____, giving it a smooth and glossy texture.
Word Origin & History
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”)). Displaced Old English sīde (“silk”). Compare Seres. Doublet of seric and serge.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"It was flood-tide along Fifth Avenue; motor, brougham, and victoria swept by on the glittering current; pretty women glanced out from limousine and tonneau; young men of his own type, silk-hatted, frock-coated, the crooks of their walking sticks tucked up under their left arms, passed on the Park side."
— 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, “His Own People”, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC, page 6:
"Now that she had rested and had fed from the luncheon tray Mrs. Broome had just removed, she had reverted to her normal gaiety. She looked cool in a grey tailored cotton dress with a terracotta scarf and shoes and her hair a black silk helmet."
— 1963, Margery Allingham, “Dangerous Lady”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC, page 36:
"While we shucked and silked the corn, we talked, sang old nursery rhymes […]"
— 2013, Lynetra T. Griffin, From Whence We Came, page 17:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The luxurious dress was made of ____, a natural fiber produced by silkworms.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The expensive dress was made from genuine ____, giving it a smooth and glossy texture.