silesia

[si-lee-zhuh, -shuh, sahy-]

noun

a lightweight, smoothly finished, twilled fabric of acetate, rayon, or cotton, for garment linings.

Origin of silesia

First recorded in 1665–70; named after Silesia

Silesia

[si-lee-zhuh, -shuh, sahy-]

noun

a region in central Europe along both banks of the upper Oder River, mainly in SW Poland and the N Czech Republic: formerly divided between Germany (which had the largest portion), Poland, and Czechoslovakia; by provision of the Potsdam agreement 1945, the greater part of German Silesia came under Polish administration; rich deposits of coal, iron, and other minerals.

German Schlesien.Polish Śląsk.Czech Slezsko.

Related formsSi·le·sian, adjective, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for silesia

Historical Examples of silesia

Rouge was born in Silesia in 1813 and died in October, 1887.
The Works of Whittier, Volume IV (of VII)
John Greenleaf Whittier
The Arabic numerals appear in a Regensburg chronicle of 1167 and in Silesia in 1340.
The Hindu-Arabic Numerals
David Eugene Smith
Adams wrote also an account of his journey to Silesia in July, 1800.
Translations of German Poetry in American Magazines 1741-1810
Edward Ziegler Davis
But he did not succeed in taking it, and was forced to retreat to Silesia.
A Modern History, From the Time of Luther to the Fall of Napoleon
John Lord, A.M.
But he pretended to retreat from Saxony, and advance to Silesia.
A Modern History, From the Time of Luther to the Fall of Napoleon
John Lord, A.M.

British Dictionary definitions for silesia

silesia

noun

a twill-weave fabric of cotton or other fibre, used esp for pockets, linings, etc

Word Origin for silesia

C17: Latinized form of German Schlesien Silesia

Silesia

noun

a region of central Europe around the upper and middle Oder valley: mostly annexed by Prussia in 1742 but became almost wholly Polish in 1945; rich coal and iron-ore depositsPolish name: Śląsk Czech name: Slezsko German name: Schlesien

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 silesia

Silesia

former eastern German province, now southwestern Poland, from Latinized form of German Schliesen (Polish Slask), from the name of a river and a mountain there, from Silingi or Silingae, name of a Vandalic (Germanic) people who supposedly had a religious center at the mountain. Related: Silesian. In reference to cloth imported from there from 1670s, especially "a thin cotton cloth, commonly twilled, used for linings for women's dresses and men's garments."