Silken Meaning
/ˈsɪlkən/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjMade of silk.
adjSynonym of silky, like silk, silklike, particularly, Having a smooth, soft, or light texture.
Sentence Examples
Moderation is the silken string running through the pearl chain of all virtues.
CEFR Practice Quiz
Her ____ hair felt incredibly smooth and soft to the touch after washing.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The princess had long, ____ hair that shone brightly under the sun.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English silken, selken, seolkene, from Old English seolcen, from seolc (“silk”) + -en, from an unattested early Proto-West Germanic borrowing from Latin sēricum, from Ancient Greek σηρικός (sērikós, “silken”), from σήρ (sḗr, “silkworm”) + -ικός (-ikós, “-ic”). Equivalent to silk + -en (“made of”). Cognate with Scots selkin, silkin (“silken”), Icelandic silki (“silken”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"[L]ove is not to be bought, in any ſenſe of the vvords, its ſilken vvings are inſtantly ſhrivelled up vvhen any thing beſide a return in kind is ſought."
— 1791 (date written), Mary Wollstonecraft, “Of the Pernicious Effects which Arise from the Unnatural Distinctions Established in Society”, in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: With Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], published 1792, →OCLC, page 322:
"[…] in spite of the buzz in the next room, Edith had rolled herself up into a soft ball of muslin and ribbon, and silken curls, and gone off into a peaceful little after-dinner nap."
— 1854 September – 1855 January, [Elizabeth Gaskell], chapter I, in North and South. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1855, →OCLC:
"He heard the silken rustle of a dressing-gown being drawn on."
— 1994, Stephen Fry, chapter 2, in The Hippopotamus, Random House, published 2010, page 37:
"[…] an admired silken-mannered gentleman in society, a tolerable polecat at home […]"
— 1923, Ernest Bramah, The Eyes of Max Carrados:
"Taffeta phrases, silken terms precise, / Three-piled hyperboles, spruce affectation, / Figures pedantical; these summer-flies / Have blown me full of maggot ostentation:"
— c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Loues Labour’s Lost”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Her ____ hair felt incredibly smooth and soft to the touch after washing.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The princess had long, ____ hair that shone brightly under the sun.