I. ˈvelvə̇t, usu -ə̇d.+V noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English veluet, velvet, from Middle French velu shaggy (from — assumed — Vulgar Latin villutus, from Latin villus shaggy hair) + Middle English -et; akin to Latin vellus fleece — more at wool
1. : a clothing and upholstery fabric in a wide range of constructions and weights made of silk, rayon, cotton, nylon, or wool and characterized by a short soft dense pile produced by weaving into a single cloth an extra warp which is looped over wires and later cut or by weaving a double cloth with an extra warp connecting the two fabrics which are later cut apart — see uncut velvet
2.
a. : something like or suggesting velvet (as in softness or luster)
b. : a characteristic of velvet: as
(1) : softness
the stars are studded in the warm intimate velvet of the night — Norman Mailer
(2) : smoothness
fine old cognac loses its velvet when chilled — Jerry Thomas
3. : the soft and highly vascular hairy skin that envelops and nourishes the antlers of deer during their rapid growth but later peels off or is rubbed off by the animal
4.
a. : the cash or chips a player is ahead in a gambling game : winnings
b. : a profit or gain especially when beyond ordinary expectation
the rest of the collection … would cost him nothing; whatever he could sell it for would be velvet — S.N.Behrman
if one of them is real lucky and has the breaks and finally gets to be well known and makes some money, well, it's so much velvet then — Louis Armstrong
5. : a drink that is half champagne and half porter — compare black velvet 2
6. : velvet sponge
•
- on velvet
II. adjective
1. : made or covered with velvet ; sometimes : clad in velvet
2. : resembling or suggesting velvet : velvety
the callous soles of the passersby made the merest velvet shuffling — William Beebe
the horse had a velvet gait — Edna Ferber
the apple-green twilight deepened into emerald and then into a velvet darkness — John Buchan
velvet lawns
III. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English, from velvet, n.
: to make like or cover with velvet
bald mountains that velvet their own sides with shadows — New Republic