corn silk

American  

noun

1. the long, threadlike, silky styles on an ear of corn.

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corn silk British  

noun

1. the silky tuft of styles and stigmas at the tip of an ear of maize, formerly used as a diuretic

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Etymology

Origin of corn silk

First recorded in 1850–55

Example Sentences

During a video interview last month from his home in Los Angeles, he gulped from a large glass of corn silk tea, intended to ease some prostate issues that he said might be stress-related.

From New York Times • Mar. 2, 2023

It’s the color of her hair — soft and fine as corn silk.

From Los Angeles Times • May 25, 2022

It is a good thing we don’t mind the warm, yeasty smell of a big dog or the drifts of hair that come off his body like canine corn silk.

From Washington Post • Oct. 4, 2020

McCarthy’s stylists get high marks for accuracy on cut and color—a sort of corn silk, “green yellow” in the Crayola lexicon.

From The New Yorker • Feb. 7, 2017

Elowyn’s younger sister Caelia spins nearby, with corn silk hair like her father’s and a crown of flowers in it.

From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black