n. 1 a fine strong soft lustrous fibre produced by silkworms in making cocoons. 2 a similar fibre spun by some spiders etc. 3 thread or cloth made from silk fibre. 4 (in pl.) kinds of silk cloth or garments made from it, esp. as worn by a jockey in a horse-owner's colours. 5 Brit. colloq. Queen's (or King's) Counsel, as having the right to wear a silk gown. 6 (attrib.) made of silk (silk blouse). 7 the silky styles of the female maize-flower. silk cotton kapok or a similar substance. silk-fowl a breed of fowl with a silky plumage. silk-gland a gland secreting the substance produced as silk. silk hat a tall cylindrical hat covered with silk plush. silk moth any of various large moths of the family Saturniidae, esp. Hyalophora cecropia. silk-screen printing = screen printing. take silk Brit. become a Queen's (or King's) Counsel. silklike adj.
[ OE sioloc, seolec (cf. ON silki) f. LL sericum neut. of L sericus f. seres f. Gk Seres an oriental people ]