velvet

/ˈvɛlvət/

/ˈvɛlvɪt/

Other forms: velvets

Use the noun velvet to describe a plush, smooth fabric that is used to make elegant dresses and fancy drapes.

Velvet has historically been a rich, expensive fabric, made on special looms most often from silk. It is plain on the back, thick and soft on the front, and its texture has led to the word's use as an adjective to describe something soft and smooth, like a dog's velvet ear. Even a rich, smooth singing voice can be described as velvet. The Latin root, villus, simply means "shaggy cloth" or "tuft of hair."

Definitions of velvet

1. noun

   a silky densely piled fabric with a plain back
   type of:

   cloth, fabric, material, textile

   artifact made by weaving or felting or knitting or crocheting natural or synthetic fibers
2. adjective

   resembling velvet in having a smooth soft surface
   synonyms: velvety

   soft

   yielding readily to pressure or weight
3. adjective

   smooth and soft to sight or hearing or touch or taste
   synonyms: velvet-textured, velvety

   smooth

   having a surface free from roughness or bumps or ridges or irregularities