Dictionary.com

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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In our third teacher-created PSAT practice test there are new and unique vocabulary terms you may have never heard of! Can you guess what they mean?
Question 1 of 10
seclusion
a false belief or opinion.
the matter that settles to the bottom of a liquid.
the state of being isolated, kept apart, or withdrawn into solitude.
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Origin of messaline

Borrowed into English from French around 1905–10

Words nearby messaline

message switching, message unit, messaging, Messalian, Messalina, messaline, messan, Messapian, Messapic, mess around, mess call
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

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