satin

[sat-n]

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noun

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.

adjective

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

Related formssat·in·like, adjective

Can be confusedSatan satin

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for satin

polished, glistening, shiny, silky, satin, satiny, lustrous, glassy, silken

Examples from the Web for satin

Contemporary Examples of satin

That meant liquid embroidered metallics, satin lace-up skirts – and even a tweed bikini.
Jason Wu’s Softer Side
Isabel Wilkinson
September 6, 2013
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 Sneakers
The 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 Seneca Tartan?
Blake Gopnik
September 14, 2012
The pale blue lining of the brim of her satin hat perfectly matched the flowers on her jacket.
The Queen's Fashion Secrets
Kate Betts
July 6, 2010

Historical Examples of satin

There were other and still other banners, in velvet or in satin, balanced at the end of gilded batons.
The Dream
Emile Zola
One's knee struck a sword, or one's foot touched a satin train, at every step.
In the Valley
Harold Frederic
But “time and patience,” says the Eastern proverb, “change the mulberry leaf to satin.”
Self-Help
Samuel Smiles
He was a chestnut horse, with a coat that shone like satin, and not a white hair about him.
Henry Dunbar
M. E. Braddon
The front of the skirt and of the sleeves are elaborately trimmed with puffings of satin.
The Group
Mercy Warren

British Dictionary definitions for satin

satin

noun

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

Derived Formssatin-like, adjectivesatiny, adjective

Word Origin for satin

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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for satin

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.