silk English · revision 7726

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 888|origins=la sericum}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /sɪlk/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English seolke, silk, [[inh|ang|sioloc|t=silk, silken cloth]], seolc,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) cognate with Old Norse silki, Old Prussian silkas, Lithuanian šilkai and Old Church Slavonic šelkŭ,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) ultimately from Latin [[m|la|sericum|alt=sēricum|t=silk]], literally Seric stuff,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from Greek Sērikós, of the Sēres, an eastern people from whom the Greeks got silk.^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) The form with l instead of r came through the Baltic trade and may reflect a Chinese dialect form,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) though comparisons with Chinese sī, silk, are uncertain.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The fibre produced by silkworm larvae: about 888 in the OED, before 899 in Barnhart.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The Sēres seem to have lived in northern China, as approached from the northwest.^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) Western cultivation began in 552, when agents from Byzantium disguised as monks smuggled silkworms out of China.^(Etymonline) The more common Germanic word, German Seide and Dutch zijde, is from Medieval Latin seta.^(Etymonline) ''Soft as silk'' is from before 1310,^(OED 1989) and artificial silk from 1885.^(OED 1989) Word Origins notes that the proverb about a silk purse and a sow's ear dates from the late 16th century, and that a silk, a Queen's or King's Counsel, from the silk gown worn, is late 19th-century.^(Cresswell 2021)^(Collins 2023) Of maize, the silky tuft of styles is a later sense.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 888 – sioloc.^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1310 – soft as silk.^(OED 1989)

+ * late 16th century – a silk purse.^(Cresswell 2021)

+ * 1885 – artificial silk.^(OED 1989)

+ * late 19th century – a QC.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The fine, lustrous [[fibre]] produced by [[silkworm|alt=silkworms]] to make their cocoons.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Thread or [[fabric]] made from this, or a garment of it.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The fine thread spun by a [[spider]].^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(British)'' A Queen's or King's Counsel, or the gown such a lawyer wears.^(Collins 2023)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Made of or like silk.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[silklike]]

+ * [[silken]]

+ * [[silkworm]]

+ * [[silky]]

+ * [[silk-stocking]]

+ * [[silkscreen]]

+ * [[silkweed]]

+ * [[corn silk]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[serge]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}