silk 
for furniture-covering and other upholstery. Ohllan 
Silk, a raw silk exported from Persia, derived from the 
province of Ghilan in northern Persia, from which the 
largest amount of the material came in the m 
5630 
silkworm 
called are Bombax Malabaricvm, of the East Indies, and silknpsqt (silk ' nf 
...Iron anfraetuotum, of India and tropical A ner. * : USet [. h "- 
rnoroxisly, simulating such titles as yourhigh- 
K. One who is em- ness," to imply luxuriousness, ((<. 
of silk cloth for the *' r , your rilknesse 
Clearely mistakes Maecenas and his house. 
market, as in smoothing, stiffening, and fold- 
ing it. B- Jonson, Poetaster, iii. 1. 
silken (sil'kn), . [< ME. silken, xi/kin, xetkiii, silk-printing (silk'prin"ting), n. The art 01 
seolken, < AS. seolcen, siolce/i, seolocen, of silk, 
< seolc, silk: see silk.] ' ~" 
or consisting of silk. 
, , , 
1. Of, pertaining to, 
like cotton, of different qualities and manufactures : 
loosely used. Japanese silk, formerly, a fabric made 
in England, having a linen warp and a silk weft; now, a 
fabric wholly of silk and exported from Japan. Nag- 
pore silk, a kind of India silk, soft and thin, and usually 
in plain colors of the dyes peculiar to the far East. Oiled 
Silk. See oil. Pongee Silk. See pongee. RadslmlT 
Silk, a rich silk fabric used for mourning garments for 
women. Viet, of Needlework. Raw Silk. See def. 1. 
Rumchunder silk, Indian silk stuff of different quali- 
ties and styles of manufacture. Shot silk. See Ao(i, 
p. a., 4. Sllk-degumming machine, a machine for 
eliminating the natural gum from the fiber of silk, by 
subjecting it to the action of warm water, and beating. 
Silk-doubling machine, a machine for twisting toge- 
ther two or more filaments of twisted silk. E. U. Knight. 
- Silk-sizing machine, a silk-sorting machine. silk- 
softening machine, a machine in which silk is softened 
and polished after dyeing. The skeins of silk are passed 
over reciprocating bobbins. Silk-sorting machine, a 
machine for sorting threads of silk according to thickness, 
and winding them upon bobbins. The proper bobbin is 
presented to the thread by the action of a lever, which is 
governed by the thickness of the thread passing between ... . .. . 
gage-rollers. Silk-testing machine, a device, on the Silken (sil kn), c. t. [< silken, a.] To make United 
principle of the spring-balance, for testing the strength of silky or like silk; render soft or lustrous. 
[Bare.] 
Little care is yours, 
... if your sheep are of Silurian breed. 
Nightly to house them dry on fern or straw, 
Silkening their fleeces. Dyer, Fleece, i. 
A silk-mill 
Fetter strong madness in a silken thread. 
Shak., Much Ado, v. 1. 25. 
2. Like silk ; soft or lustrous ; hence, delicate ; 
tender; smooth. 
Taffeta phrases, silken terms precise. 
SAa*., L. L. L., v. 2. 406. 
A brown beard, not too silken in its texture, fringed his 
chin. Hawthorne, Seven Gables, iii. 
3. Dressed in silk; hence, luxurious. 
Shall a beardless boy, 
A cocker'd silken wanton, brave our fields 
And flesh his spirit in a warlike soil? 
Shak., K. John, v. 1. 70. 
principle of the spring-balance, for testing the strength of 
silk threads or filaments. Sleaved Silk. See sleave, 
Spun silk, silk thread produced by spinning the short . 
fleered silk from cocoons which the insect has pierced in 
eating its way out, or waste silk of any sort which cannot 
be thrown in the usual manner : it is spun like woolen, and 
is used, either alone or with cotton or woolen for special 
fabrics. Tabby silk. Same as tabby. 
sexes in size. 
j. silk-factory (silk'fak*to-ri), . ..-,.. 
Mr. Adolphus Hadlock carried forward the babe, envel- silk-figured (silk'fig"urd), a. Having the or- silk-spinner 
oped in a long flowing blanket of white tabby silk, lined namental pattern in silk : noting a woven tex- (silk'spin"er). n. 
^u h ec W ot eMtin ' andembr ^^ tnetebriccomposed^f silk and fome other ma- g ho r a 
t^on,o S r i ^- 8 ".. t ^ e ----A j :.l'!!^ n , , to ? e l her SiS-flower^s^k^flou'er 6 . 68 '!. A Peruvian 1 P - spins silk, 
in the direc 
*** 1** iiiUAil^, ^lilill. Bu UU*/f It , J.HC at t \Jl 
practice of printing on smooth and thin silk 
fabrics in patterns similar to those used in cot- 
ton-printing. 
silk-reel (silk'rel), w. A machine in which raw 
silk is unwound from the cocoons, formed into 
a thread, and wound in a skein, it consists essen- 
tially of a vessel of water heated by a furnace(in which the 
cocoons are floated while being unwound), a series of guides 
for the filaments of silk, and a reel on which the skein is 
wound. The cocoons, stripped of the floes silk, are thrown 
in the boiling water, and, when they have become soft, the 
filaments of several cocoons are united, guided to the reel 
and wound off together. Also called sUk-mnJer. 
Silk-shag (silk'shag), w. A young herring. 
[Prov. Eng.] 
Silk-spider (silk'spl"der), w. Any spider which 
spinsakindof silk; especially, NepMlapltantoeg 
of the southern 
United States, 
which spins co- 
piously, and is 
also notable for 
the unusual dis- 
parity of the 
u o\* ui\.|j(ui*u vx me i"mu la C1I 
ganzine.To take silk, to become or b 
>r queen's counsel : In allusion to th 
then assumed. See phrase silk gown, under II. Tus- 
ser Bilk. See tusscr-sUk. -Virginia silk, the silk-vine, 
Periploca Grfeca: so called from the silky tuft of the seed. 
It Is cultivated and inclines to be spontaneous in Virginia. 
See Periploca. Wrapping-silk, a flue strong floss em- 
ployed in the manufacture of artificial flies. 
ployed in 
II. a. 
the manufacture of artificial flies. pie. The size exceeds but 
1. Made of silk ; silken : as, a silk dress ; United States called alky. 
ilk-tree. 
lk-fpwl (silk'foul), N. A variety of the do- 
mestic hen with silky plumage of fringe-like 
filaments. The color is white, the legs are well fea- 
thered and dark, the head is crested, and the comb is 
double and lumpy ; the face, comb, and wattles are pur- 
-'- The size exceeds but little that of bantams. In the 
silk stockings. 
What a disgrace is it tome . . . to take note how many 
pair of silk stoclrings thou hast, viz. these, and those that 
were thy peach-coloured ones ! Shak., 2 Hen. IV., ii. -2. 17. 
2. Silk-like; silky. [Bare.] 
Your inky brows, your black silk hair. 
a fine and closely worked" braid of silk, made forthe decora? 
tion of garments, and sometimes of furniture, by being laid 
The silk-fouil breeds true, and there is reason to believe 
is a very ancient race ; but when I reared a large number 
of mongrels from a silk-hen by a Spanish cock, not one ex- 
hibited even a trace of the so-called silkiness. 
Darwin, Variation of Animals and Plants, xiv. 
silk-gelatin (silk'jel'a-tin), '. Same as silk- 
i "i.i, u -",, H.IIJ. (il)tf ^>f*f> *tf")'i(*ii) 
eel^^MivV'M siUt-Kland (silk'gland), n. Any gland which silk-thrower 
orald, secretes the substance of silk, as in the silk- (silk'thr6'er),. 
worm or silk-spider; a serictenum. 
- ~ixi ., Same as serif/ M. 
bi/cilta, q. v., or 
of its G. ver- 
sion, Seiden- 
schwanz.'] Abird 
of the restrict- 
ed genus Ampelis 
(or Bonibycilla) ; 
a waxwing, as 
the Bohemian or 
Carolinian ; a 
cedar-bird. See 
cut under wax- 
Silk-spider (Nrfltila plumipts) : upjx 
figure. female; lower, male. (Three fourth 
upon the surface of the stuff in scrolls and other patterns silk-glue (silk'glo), . 
The,, ank80f8 n k 
to avoid the necessity of filling in a background, as the silk-gown ". 
canvas itself supplies it. Silk damask, a silken textile silk-i 
with elaborate flower-patterns, formerly much used for 
fine upholstery. Compare damask, 1 (a) and (b) Silk 
gown, or the silk, (a) The canonical robe of a king's 
or queen's counsel in England, differing from that ' 
of an 
" naturaj size.) 
One who pro- 
duces or manufactures thrown silk, or organ- 
zine. 
Silk-throwster (silk'thro'ster), H. Same as 
tar Colours (trans. X p. 40. silk-thrower. 
See silk goicii, under silk, a. silk-tree (silk'tre), n. An ornamental decidu- 
n. 1. The Adam's-nee- ous tree, Albizzia (Acacia) Julibrissin, a native 
of Abyssinia and eastern and central Asia. 
Its leaves are twice-pinnate with very numerous leaflets 
which appear as if halved ; its flowers are rather large, 
pale rose-purple, with tufts of long shining filaments 
(whence the name). Also silk-flower. 
die or bear-grass, Yucca filamentosa : in allusion 
to its fiber, which has been the subject of some 
experiment, but has not been brought into use. 
2. A name given to the istle, karatas, ramie 
.. . UVU .. UUI ... jj.tgimni, Mulcting [Mini I I I .' I I UI aH 
ordinary barrister in being made of silk and not of stuff. 
Hence (b) A king's or queen's counsel. 
Mr. Blowers, the eminent silk-gown. 
Dickens, Bleak House, i. 
Silk hat, a high cylindrical hat made with a body of stiff 
pasteboard covered by a kind of silk plush, especially de- -y~"*-"~" v^.i.., i >,uc yvcoicm ujmeu SUKWCed (SUK'wed), n. 1. A common name 
signed for this purpose. Silk hats are worn for common use States, whose flowering glumes are densely for the Cmiferraccir or fresh-water alow that 
^'S3iSEtt^3r55 ! & covered with lone silkv hairs: also - the 8im " " 23TJS ?**L. ^ 
ti>\ r il.. ..ill... ..I..;. , , .,..:. .....i ; L B . J - 
. , , (wre nce the name). Also sUk-ftower. 
(see these names), and some other fibers, also silk-vine (silk'vin), w. See Periploca. 
"<>> or less to the plants producing them, silk-weaver (silk'we'ver), n. One whose 
gh ^ hey a 1 ' 6 , 1 '" 16 ^'ass-like.-S. A grass, cupation is the weaving of silk stuffs. 
^opsis cuspidate, of the western United silkweed (silk'wed), n. 1. A comm 
States whose flowerin lumes are den - 
OC- 
common name 
--, for the t'onferracex, or fresh-w _.___ 
also, the simi- consist of long, soft filaments resembling silk. 
See Confen-acex. 2. Same as : '" ' ' 
lilb-wiTiHor fsillr'iviTi'riAi-N * 
with long 
"Hi 1 ' ,IL -Mm. uiuouii, * Linn aim gauzy S11K IQT. \tinu ffttnnttl nf rhp samp 
textile, either plain, or printed in small patterns in color, '?i~ P* ? "XI "V<- <-". ~. ^i^c = 
or ornamented with raised figures made in the weaving SlLK-grower (silk grower), u. One who pro- silk-winder (silk'win'der) n 1 A silk-reel 
Sllkpaper, tissue-paper; especially, a fine quality of tis- duces silk-cocoons by raising silkworms and _2 A windino- machine fnr'frnfprrir,<r row 
.a5S^S9S r .isS l ss **^* OT0 ^^ S on wh^ t h ey & t Xffi^u&5zS& 
of tusser-silk with a long soft pile imitating sealskin fur spinning. 
Compare sealskin doth under s *ti.-silk serge, a Sllthen (si k hen), n. The female silk-fowl, silkwood (silk'wud), w. 1. The moss Polutri- 
^&%^?S^^J!*Z^ ^vTbeit ^TsllV'asV Th% Stat r'; qU ,f ''""" C B - ^ OV " E "gO-2. A shrVb, 
ity of being like silk, as to the touch, to the Muntingia Calabura. See caldbur-tree 
eye by its luster, or to the ear by its peculiar silkworm (silk'werm), n. [< ME. sylke wyrme, 
rustle. 2. Softness; effeminacy; pusiHamm- si/Ike worme, < AS. seolc-wyrm, sivlucwyrm (= 
ity. Imp. Diet. 3. Smoothness to the taste. --" ^ ' -'- -**- ' 
The claret had no silkineis. 
_ uuuu TL,or\*ij iai j iui LI1C IIIIIIIK^ OI nilC 
coats. There is generally a diagonal pattern produced in 
the weaving, the stuff being of one color. Silk ShaK a 
kind of shag made wholly or in part of silk. Silk-spray 
embroidery, a kind of appliqu^ work in which the orna- 
;s applied are small sprays previously embroidered in 
... na plclwusly ulllUlOHlereil H 
fllosel or floss-silk on thin stuff and cut out for the pur- 
se. silk-stockings, silken hose. They were formerly 
'! axtraVaa ' ltan ? re . pr 
clas 
class 
.. ----- j _ w , w BBvw-oM/nitftjy, a p 
Silk-top palmetto. See palmetto. 
Silk-bunting (Silk'bun'ting), . An American 
, . mercan 
bunting of the genus Spiza (formerly Euspiza), . 
as the black-throated S. americana, whose plu- silk-mercer (silk'mer"ser), w 
mage is peculiarly close and smooth. See cut fabrics. 
Chesterfield. 
silkman (silk'man), n. ; 
silk + man, 1 } A deale_ ^ v 
one employed in the manufacture of silks, or 
the manufacturer or director of a silk-mill. 
He is indited to dinner ... to Master Smooth's the 
silkman. Shak., 2 Hen. IV., ii. 1. si. 
A dealer in silk 
. 
Silk-mill (silk'mil), n. 
, 
America. 
-ie species of the genera ,. 
iromn; also of the genus Pachira of 
The silk-cotton trees most properly so 
whose larva is a silkworm, as liombyx (or Seri- 
mori. 2. pi. The family So'nibyciflse. 
Dan. silkeorm), < seolc, silk, + iryrm, worm : 
see silk and worm.'] 1. The larva or cater- 
1. xilkmen (-men). [< pillar of a bombycine moth or silk-moth which 
silk fabrics; also, ' n ^ e chrysalis state is inclosed in a cocoon 
of silk; especially, such a larva, as of Sombyx 
(Sericaria) mori and allied species, from which 
silk of commercial value is obtained. There 
are many species, of different genera. The ordinary 
silkworm of commerce, or mulberry-silkworm, is the 
larva of Sericaria mori. It is indigenous to China, and 
its cultivation spread through India and Persia, reach- 
ing Constantinople about A. E. 550. This larva is a large 
whitish caterpillar with an anal horn, and the moth is 
large-bodied, white In color, with small wings. The best 
races have but one annual generation, and are known 
as annuals. There are races, however, which have two 
generations (bivoltins), or three (trivoltins), or four (quad- 
rivoltins), or eight (dacys). The cocoon varies through 
shades of white, cream, green, or roseate, and also greatly 
A mill or factory for 
r for 
