silk Definition

a fine continuous protein fiber produced by various insect larvae usually for cocoons; especially : a lustrous tough elastic fiber produced by silkworms and used for textiles

thread, yarn, or fabric made from silk filaments

a garment of silk

to develop the silk

the silky or cottony covering of seeds of various silk-cotton trees; especially : kapok

any of various tropical trees (family Bombacaceae, the silk-cotton family) with palmate leaves and large fruits with the seeds enveloped by silk cotton; especially : kapok

a gland that produces a viscid fluid which is extruded in filaments and hardens into silk on exposure to air: such as

either of a pair of greatly enlarged and modified salivary glands of an insect larva that produce a compound filament from which a larval or pupal cover (such as a cocoon) is spun

any of two or more abdominal glands of a spider that open through spinnerets and produce a filament used chiefly in the spinning of webs

a hat with a tall cylindrical crown and a silk-plush finish worn by men as a dress hat

the common silkworm (Bombyx mori)

saturniid; especially : one (such as the cecropia moth) that produces a cocoon of silk

any of various Australian timber trees (especially genus Grevillea) of the protea family that have mottled wood used in cabinetmaking and veneering —called also silky oak

a stencil process in which coloring matter is forced onto the material to be printed through the meshes of a silk or organdy screen so prepared as to have pervious printing areas and impervious nonprinting areas; also : a print made by this process

aristocratic, wealthy

fashionably dressed

of or relating to the American Federalist party