satin
[sat-n]
- a fabric in a warp-effect or filling-effect satin weave, as acetate, rayon, nylon, or silk, often having a glossy face and a soft, slippery texture.
- satin weave.
- a dress or other garment of satin: She wore her green satin.
- of or like satin; smooth; glossy.
- made of or covered or decorated with satin: a satin pillow.
Origin of satin
1325–75; Middle English satyn(e) < Middle French satin, probably < Arabic (aṭlas) zaytūnī (satin) of Zaitun a city in China where the cloth was made, probably Tsinkiang
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for satin
Contemporary Examples
That meant liquid embroidered metallics, satin lace-up skirts – and even a tweed bikini.
The gown by couturier Helen Rose is made of 25 yards of satin and took a fifteen-person team almost three months to fashion.
Anna Wintour's First Tweet Is About DOMA; Wendy Davis's Red Filibuster SneakersThe Fashion Beast Team
June 27, 2013
There were satin dresses, cascading trench coats, and an array of perfectly tailored trousers.
Are Birkenstocks Cool Again? Céline, Giambattista Valli & More (PHOTOS)Misty White Sidell
November 27, 2012
I still remember the feel and appeal of the satin edging on a cheap blue blanket that somehow came to me as a kid.
The pale blue lining of the brim of her satin hat perfectly matched the flowers on her jacket.
Historical Examples
There were other and still other banners, in velvet or in satin, balanced at the end of gilded batons.
The DreamEmile Zola
One's knee struck a sword, or one's foot touched a satin train, at every step.
In the ValleyHarold Frederic
But “time and patience,” says the Eastern proverb, “change the mulberry leaf to satin.”
Self-HelpSamuel Smiles
He was a chestnut horse, with a coat that shone like satin, and not a white hair about him.
Henry DunbarM. E. Braddon
The front of the skirt and of the sleeves are elaborately trimmed with puffings of satin.
The GroupMercy Warren
satin
- a fabric of silk, rayon, etc, closely woven to show much of the warp, giving a smooth glossy appearance
- (modifier) of or like satin in texturea satin finish
Word Origin
C14: via Old French from Arabic zaitūnī of Zaytūn, Arabic rendering of Chinese Tseutung (now Tsinkiang), port in southern China from which the cloth was probably first exported
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for satin
n.
mid-14c., from Old French satin (14c.), perhaps from Arabic (atlas) zaytuni, literally "(satin) from Zaitun," a Chinese city, perhaps modern Quanzhou in Fukien province, southern China, a major port in the Middle Ages, with a resident community of European traders. The form of the word perhaps influenced in French by Latin seta "silk." OED finds the Arabic connection etymologically untenable and takes the French word straight from Latin. As an adjective from mid-15c.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper