FLEECE

I. noun Etymology: Middle English flees, from Old English flēos; akin to Middle High German vlius ~ and perhaps to Latin pluma feather, down Date: before 12th century 1. the coat of wool covering a wool-bearing animal (as a sheep), the wool obtained from a sheep at one shearing, 2. any of various soft or woolly coverings, a soft bulky deep-piled knitted or woven fabric used chiefly for clothing, II. transitive verb (~d; fleecing) Date: 1537 1. to strip of money or property by fraud or extortion, to charge excessively for goods or services, to remove the ~ from ; shear , to dot or cover with fleecy masses