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samite

[sam-ahyt, sey-mahyt]
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noun

a heavy silk fabric, sometimes interwoven with gold, worn in the Middle Ages.

RELATED WORDS

thread, fiber, taffeta, tulle, mantua, tussore, tussah, pongee, sendal

Nearby words

  1. sami,
  2. samian,
  3. samian ware,
  4. samiel,
  5. samisen,
  6. samiti,
  7. samizdat,
  8. samkhya,
  9. saml.,
  10. samlet

Origin of samite

1300–50; Middle English samit < Old French < Medieval Latin examitium, samitium < Greek hexámiton, neuter of hexámitos having six threads. See hexa-, mitosis
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for samite

British Dictionary definitions for samite

samite

noun

a heavy fabric of silk, often woven with gold or silver threads, used in the Middle Ages for clothing

Word Origin for samite

C13: from Old French samit, from Medieval Latin examitum, from Greek hexamiton, from hexamitos having six threads, from hex six + mitos a thread
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
Word Origin and History for samite

samite

n.

type of rich silk cloth, c.1300, from Old French samit, from Medieval Latin samitum, examitum, from Medieval Greek hexamiton (source of Old Church Slavonic oksamitu, Russian aksamit "velvet"), noun use of neuter of Greek adjective hexamitos "six-threaded," from hex "six" (see six) + mitos "warp thread" (see mitre (n.)). The reason it was called this is variously explained. Obsolete c.1600; revived by Tennyson. German Sammet "velvet" is from French.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper