I. ˈsilkən, ˈsiu̇k- adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English seolcen, from seolc silk + -en
1. : made of silk : consisting of silk
silken threads
a silken veil
in certain spiders the female carries the eggs about with her in a silken case — H.M.Parshley
2. : resembling silk: as
a. : soft , lustrous
her ability to look gracefully silken on occasion — Adrian Bell
b.
(1) : agreeably smooth : harmonious
silken voices
the silken sonority of the strings — Virgil Thomson
doesn't hold with the silken and the silver epithet — Josephine Miles
(2) : ingratiating , insinuating
said … in the silken town voice — Paul Bowles
c. : delicate , tender , gentle
silken slumbers
a silken touch
d. : low , even
a silken sound
e. : extremely graceful : lithe
whirled upon him with the silken savagery of a little panther — Elinor Wylie
3. : furnished with silk : producing silk
from silken Samarcand — John Keats
silken chambers
4.
a. : dressed in silk
silken ankles
b. : luxurious
silken young gallants — F.X.Braun
reading public is preoccupied with murder, mayhem, and silken dalliance — Police Review
c. : effeminate
silken sons of pride — Van Wyck Brooks
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
1. : to make silken or silklike
a shampoo that silkens your hair — advt
the new silkened worsted — New York Times Magazine
2. : to cover with or as if with silk : dress in silk
smiles and graces of silkened beauty — George Catlin