messaline

[ mes-uh-leen, mes-uh-leen ]

/ ˌmɛs əˈlin, ˈmɛs əˌlin /

noun

a thin, soft silk with a twill or satin weave.

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a person who is especially competent to pass critical judgments in an art, particularly one of the fine arts, or in matters of taste.

a frequent or habitual visitor to a place.

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Origin of messaline

Borrowed into English from French around 1905–10

Words nearby messaline

message unit, messager, messaging, messalian, messalina, messaline, messan, messapian, messapic, messed up, messeigneurs

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for messaline

Dorothy smiled as she turned her back and folded the messaline dress, placing it carefully in her trunk.
Dorothy Dale in the City|Margaret Penrose
It was of messaline silk of ivory whiteness and made with a short Empire waist and narrow, clinging skirt.
The Camp Fire Girls Across the Seas|Margaret Vandercook
Mr. de Lara's latest production, 'Sanga' , does not seem to have sustained the promise of 'Messaline.'
The Opera|R.A. Streatfeild

British Dictionary definitions for messaline

messaline

/ (ˌmɛsəˈliːn, ˈmɛsəˌliːn) /

noun

a light lustrous twilled-silk fabric

Word Origin for messaline

C20: from French, origin obscure

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012