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silky

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Etymology

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From Middle English sylky, equivalent to silk +‎ -y.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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silky (comparative silkier, superlative silkiest)

  1. Similar in appearance or texture (especially in softness and smoothness) to silk.
    silky hair
    cloth with a silky lustre
    • [1866], “The Field and the Heath”, in Beauties and Wonders of Vegetable Life; […], London: The Religious Tract Society, […], →OCLC, page 263:
      A portion of the Baromez does present a rude resemblance in its shape to the figure of an animal, and is covered by a soft downy substance, which may be compared to a silky fleece, of a reddish-brown colour, and which gives to it more the appearance of a dog than a lamb.
    • 1964, Thomas Berger, “My Indian Wife”, in Little Big Man, New York, N.Y.: Dial Press, →LCCN, page 214:
      Then I looked close at the scalp he stroked, which was of the silkiest blonde. For a moment I was sure it come from Olga’s dear head, and reckoned also he had little Gus’s fine skull-cover someplace among his filthy effects, the stinking old savage, living out his life of murder, rapine, and squalor, and I almost knifed him before I collected myself and realized the hair was honeyer than my Swedish wife’s.
    • 1986, E. N. Welch, “Just an Unofficial Investigation”, in Cynthia Manson, editor, Murder on Main Street: Small-Town Crime from Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine & Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, New York, N.Y.: Barnes & Noble Books, published 1993, →ISBN, page 238:
      The door opened, and there stood Miss Ellerby, looking as Miss Ellerby should, unschoolmarmish and casually chic in a silky shirt, faded jeans, and running shoes.
  2. Smooth and pleasant; seductive.
    a silky wine
    a silky voice
    silky skills
    • 2017, Gary L. Friedman, The Friedman Archives Guide to the Sony RX-10 IV:
      If you have a circular polarizer or a neutral density (grey) filter, put that in front of the lens too. This will slow down the shutter speed even further to get silkier, smoothier (that's a word!) water motion.
  3. (botany) Covered in long, slender, glistening hairs pressed close to the surface; sericeous.
  4. (slang) Having sensibilities of mainstream culture, in contrast to crunchy.
    Cribs and formula, strollers and baby food epitomize silky parenting.

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Noun

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silky (plural silkies)

  1. Alternative spelling of silkie

References

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Anagrams

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