▪ I. velvet, n.
(ˈvɛlvɪt)
Forms: α. 4–7 veluet, 4, 6 -ett (5 feluett), 6 -ette; 4– velvet (5 felvet, velveut, -ved, velavet), 5–7 velvett (6 -vytt), 7 villvet, 8 velvit. β. 5–6 velwet (5 felwet, 6 -weth); 5 vele-, vellewet (fellewet, felewote); velouet, -owet. γ. 5 weluette, 5– 6 -wet(t, 6 wellweut, welvet, Sc. wellvet, welwete. δ. Sc. 5 veluate, 6 -uote, -uot(t; 6 weluot, -wot(e, wellwott, wolwat. ε. 6 vellett, -at (velat), Sc. -ot(e, 6–7 vellet.
[ad. med.L. velvetum (-ettum), also vel(l)uetum (-ettum), app. representing a Romanic type *villūtettum, dim. of *villūtum, whence med.L. vel(l)utum (velotum), It. velluto, OF. velut, -ute, Sp. and Pg. velludo, ultimately f. L. vill-us shaggy hair. Cf. vellute, velours, and velure.]
I. 1. a. A textile fabric of silk having a short, dense, and smooth piled surface; a kind or variety of this.
Also with defining terms as cotton, Genoa, raised, stamped velvet: see these words.
| α 1320 Wardr. Acc. Edw. II, 22/14, 1 couerchief de veluett. 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 2027 His cote, wyth þe conysaunce of þe clere werkez, Ennurned vpon veluet vertuuus stonez. 1351 Cal. Pat. Rolls 25 Edw. III, 137, j fanoun de murre velvet. a 1400 T. Chestre Launfal 950 Her sadell was semyly sett, The sambus wer grene felvet. c 1441 Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 208 Farewelle, damask and clothes of gold; Farewelle, velvet, and clothes in grayn. 1483 in Somerset Med. Wills (1901) 245 To Allhalow Chirch of Aisheton my gown of blew feluett. 1538 Starkey England i. iv. (1871) 130 Yf the nobyllys..be not appayraylyd in sylkys and veluettys, they thynke they lake much of theyr honowre. 1555 W. Watreman Fardle Facions i. iv. 46 Tentes and pauilions placed in good ordre, of veluet and saten. 1601 Holland Pliny I. 124 That our ladies and wiues when they go abroad in the street may..shine again in their silks and veluets. 1694 Marten's Voy. Spitzbergen in Acc. Sev. Late Voy. II. 166 He is not as black as Velvet, as the Whale is, but like a Tench. 1735 Johnson Lobo's Abyssinia, Descr. iii. 55 They wear all sorts of Silks, and particularly the fine Velvets of Turkey. 1756–7 tr. Keysler's Trav. (1760) II. 376 A suite of seven rooms furnished with red damask and velvet. 1807–8 W. Irving Salmag. (1824) 262 The lady in blue velvet, who so attentively peruses her book. 1815 Elphinstone Acc. Caubul (1842) I. 385 Embroidered satin, velvet, and Persian brocade are, of course, confined to the great. 1879 Cassell's Techn. Educ. IV. 261/2 Mohair..is largely made into fabrics for ladies' wear, linings, tabinets, plushes, and velvets. |
| β a 1400 T. Chestre Launf. 235 Har manteles wer of grene felwet, Ybordured with gold. 1423 Rolls of Parlt. IV. 255/1 Upon velowet, and Cloth of Gold. c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 3 The noble Mayer clad in reed velewet. Ibid. 6 The tour arrayed withe velwettes softe. 1531 Rec. St. Mary at Hill (1905) 45, iij olde doblettes and Shredys of velwet. 1558 in Noake Worcester Mon. (1866) 172 A coope of blewe felweth with oystars fethers. |
| γ 1441–2 Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 471, j vestimentum..de welwett. a 1450 Le Morte Arth. 2615 Hyr paraylle All of one hewe, Off a grene weluette. 1507 Pilton Churchw. Acc. (Som. Rec. Soc.) 52 A westement of grene wellwett. Ibid., A mantell of purpull wellweut. a 1548 Hall Chron., Edw. IV, 234 On hys bonet of blacke welvet a floure delyce of golde. a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 174 Ane ryding pie of blak wellvet. Ibid. 368 Claith of gould, welwete, sataine and dameis. |
| δ 1436 Registr. Aberdon. (Maitland Cl.) II. 142 Vnus mantellus pro nostra domina borderatus cum ly veluate. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lxxvii. 12 Four men of renoun, In gounes of veluot. 1572 Satir. Poems Reform. xxxiii. 254 His wyfe weiris weluot on hir Gowne and Coller. 1581 Burne in Cath. Tract. (S.T.S.) 136 That the altaris vas vont to be ornit with veluot. |
| ε 1546–7 in Feuillerat Revels Edw. VI (1914) 6 For making of one doble turff Cappe of vellett white & Grene chekyd. 1547 Harl. MS. 1419 B. fol. 555 b, One placarde of Murrey vellat; another of crimson vellat. c 1550 Lyndesay Tragedie 21 [A man] In Rayment reid..Off vellot and of Saityng Crammosie. 1605 London Prodigal i. i. 161 My ryding breeches, Vnckle, those that you thought had bene vellet. 1668 Bp. Hacket in Surtees Misc. (1861) Introd. p. xiv, The most curious piece that I have seen of purple vellet. |
b. A piece of this material.
rare.
| c 1386 Chaucer Sqr.'s T. 636 By hir beddes heed sche made a mewe, And covered it with veluettes [v.r. velowetys] blewe. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair xli, Ropes, palls, velvets, ostrich feathers, and other mortuary properties. |
c. In various
fig. or allusive uses.
| a 1592 Greene & Lodge Looking Gl. G.'s Wks. (Grosart) XIV. 90 If he were a king of veluet, I will talke to him. 1607 Merry Devil Edmonton iv. i. 37 Thou speakst as true as veluet. 1672 T. Jordan Lond. Triumph. 4 My father, store of velvet wore; My grandsire, beggars' velvet! a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Velvet, a Tongue. Tip the Velvet, to Tongue a Woman. [Hence in later slang Dicts.] 1814 [see gentleman 5 c]. 1821 P. Egan Real Life in London I. ix. 182 And when that they had sluiced their gobs With striving to excel wit, The lads began to hang their nobs, And tip their frows the velvet. 1823 ― Grose's Dict. Vulg. T. s.v. Velvet, To the little gentleman in velvet, i.e. the mole that threw up the hill that caused Crop (King William's horse) to stumble. 1882 Pidgeon Engineer's Holiday (1883) 167 Whose hand of iron was never ungloved with velvet. 1898 Westm. Gaz. 5 Jan. 3/2 Paul Mercer is born, not indeed in the purple, but in the velvet of vast wealth. |
d. on velvet, in a position of ease or advantage; in an advantageous or prosperous condition.
Chiefly in sporting slang (see later
quots.), but formerly in more general use.
| 1749 J. Cleland Mem. Woman Pleasure II. 114 The deceiving him became so easy, that it was perfect playing upon velvet. 1769 Burke Obs. Pres. St. Nat. Wks. II. 142 Not like our author, who is always on velvet, he is aware of some difficulties. 1785 Grose Dict. Vulgar T., To be upon velvet, to have the best of a bet or match. 1789 T. Anburey Trav. II. 382 Therefore, only tell General Phillips ‘that on that day I fought upon velvet’. 1828 Scott Jrnl. 23 Feb., We stand on velvet as to finance. 1845 Disraeli Sybil (1863) 41 Before that we were on velvet; but the instant he appeared everything was changed. 1874 Slang Dict. 334 Men who have succeeded in their speculations, especially on the turf, are said to stand on velvet. 1897 Daily News 1 June 3/5 Is that what you call being ‘On velvet’ when you are sure to win something?—Yes. |
e. A wearer of velvet.
| 1782 H. Cowley Which is the Man iii. iii, We had all the law ladies from Lincoln's Inn, a dozen good velvets from Bishopsgate, with the wives and daughters of half the M.D.'s and LL.D.'s in town. |
f. Gain, profit, winnings;
to the velvet, to the good.
slang.| 1901 S. E. White Westerners xxiii. 228 They's a good many ton of ore in four hundred foot of shaft.’.. ‘Let that go for now... We can call that ‘velvet’.’ 1908 K. McGaffey Sorrows of Show Girl 240 Before the whistle blew for dinner I was several hundred to the velvet. 1912 F. Irwin Fine Points Auction Bridge 56 Do your doubling early in the rubber (so as to pile up ‘velvet’ for yourself). 1940 Wodehouse Eggs, Beans & Crumpets 138 It would be money for jam... Just so much velvet. 1942 Amer. Speech XVII. 93/2, I have been taking in plenty of velvet these days working the Fair. 1951 E. Paul Springtime in Paris ii. 38 A good French mechanic..would have to work two and one half days to earn 2,430 francs, which on account of taxes..would not be all velvet. |
g. A velvet dress.
| 1851 E. Ruskin Let. 6 Nov. in M. Lutyens Effie in Venice (1965) ii. 212, I had on my black velvet because it was mourning. 1944 R. Lehmann Ballad & Source v. v. 222 We stood revealed in our long-sleeved velvets—Jess's sapphire blue, mine claret-coloured. 1963 N. Streatfeild Vicarage Family ii. 16 Isobel's velvet was of a pale green with a very full skirt. |
2. transf. a. The soft downy skin which covers a deer's horn while in the growing stage.
| c 1410 Master of Game (MS. Digby 182) ii, Hir hornes benn keuered with a softe heer, þat hunters call veluetz. 1576 Turberv. Venerie 47 Then they discouer themselues, going vnto the trees to fray their heads, and to rub of the veluet. Ibid. 244 His heade when it commeth first out, hath a russet pyll upon it, the whiche is called Veluet. 1697 Phil. Trans. XIX. 492 The Surface of the Horn, and the smooth Hairy Skin that covers them whilst they are growing (which is commonly call'd the Velvet). 1859 Todd's Cycl. Anat. V. 518/1 In the early condition the horn is soft and yielding, and is protected only by a..delicate integument... From this circumstance the skin is here termed the ‘velvet’. 1892 Pike Barren Ground N. Canada 43 It was a full-grown bull in prime condition, the velvet not yet shed, but the horns quite hard underneath. |
b. In the
phr. in velvet, said of the deer.
| 1880 W. Gill River Golden Sand I. viii. 370 The deer are only hunted when in velvet, and from the horns in this state a medicine is made. 1884 Jefferies Red Deer iv. 72 While this bark or skin remains on the horn the stag is said to be in velvet and is not hunted. |
3. a. A surface, substance, etc., comparable to velvet in respect of softness or general appearance.
| 1597 A. M. tr. Guillemeau's Fr. Chirurg. 41/2 The Potentiall Cauteryes nowe-adayes are indeede of velvet, and verye excellent. Ibid. 41 b/1 That is one of the best, which Mr. Paré calleth the Cauterye of Velvet. 1747 Gray Death Fav. Cat 9 The velvet of her paws. 1781 Cowper Ep. Prot. Lady 15 Where Nature has her mossy velvet spread. 1897 ‘O. Rhoscomyl’ White Rose Arno 267 Here is something to put velvet in the ale. 1904 R. J. Farrer Garden Asia 240 Every peak is clad in the velvet of wood and copse. |
b. ellipt. A velvet cork.
| 1830 Edinb. Cycl. VII. i. 217/1 The finished corks are finally sorted by a boy into four kinds, superfine or velvets, fine, common, and coarse. |
II. attrib. and
Comb. 4. a. Attrib., in the sense ‘made of velvet’, as
velvet bag,
velvet band,
velvet cap,
velvet gown, etc., or ‘covered with velvet’, as
velvet cushion,
velvet furniture.
| c 1350 Lybeaus Disc. 838 A velvwet mantyll gay..Sche caste abowte her swyre. 1480 Wardr. Acc. Edw. IV (1830) 149 A longe gowne of grene velvet upon velvet tisshue cloth of gold. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lxxxviii. 36 Many a semely knyght..in velvet gownes and cheynes of gold. 1542 Test. Ebor. (Surtees) VI. 159 One other jackett..with velvett bandes. 1612 Pasquil's Night-cap (1877) 37, I thinke them in their hattes as good, As Gentle-women in their veluet⁓hood. 1621 Sir R. Boyle in Lismore Papers (1886) II. 17 My wives Tawney vellet gown. c 1645 in Verney Mem. (1907) I. 5 The red velvet furniture. 1780 Burke Œcon. Reform Wks. III. 321 Have their velvet bags, and their red boxes, been so full, that nothing more could possibly be crammed into them? 1796 Wolcot (P. Pindar) Satire Wks. 1812 III. 408 Who with a velvet lash would flog a bear. 1828 Lytton Pelham III. v, Beneath this was a faded velvet waistcoat. 1848 Lady Lyttelton Corr. (1912) 388, I am sending some narrow velvet ribbon to trim it along the tucks. |
b. Attrib., in the sense ‘smooth or soft like velvet, velvety’, as
velvet down,
velvet hand,
velvet leaf, etc.
| 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. iv. iii. 105 Through the Veluet leaues the winde, All vnseene, can passage finde. 1598 Chapman Hero & Leander v. 439 Come Night and lay thy veluet hand On glorious Dayes outfacing face. 1616 J. Lane Contn. Sqr.'s T. vi. 23 Which fertil zephirs velvet spirit bloweth. 1634 Milton Comus 898 Thus I set my printless feet O're the Cowslips Velvet head. 1754 Gray Progr. Poesy 27 O'er Idalia's velvet-green The rosy-crowned Loves are seen On Cytherea's day. 1775 Sheridan Duenna ii. i, Then the roses on those cheeks are shaded with a sort of velvet down. a 1805 H. K. White Remains (1825) 365 Stretch'd supinely on the velvet turf. 1862 Mrs. Norton Lady of La Garaye Prol. 108 The soft white owl with velvet wings. 1880 Mrs. Forrester Roy & V. I. 2 A tuft of dark velvet pansies on one side. |
| fig. 1592 Arden of Feversham i. i. 324 Why, what art thou now but a Veluet drudge, A cheating steward, and base minded pesant? 1597 A. M. tr. Guillemeau's Fr. Chirurg. 41 b/1 Receipte of the Velvet Cauterye. 1609 Ev. Woman in Hum. i. i. in Bullen O. Pl. IV, I cannot soothe the World With velvet words and oyly flatteries. 1639 Fuller Holy War Ep. Ded., History is a velvet study and recreation work. 1647 N. Ward Simple Cobler (1843) 86, I have..taken a few finish stitches, which may..please a few Velvet eares. 1818 Keats Endym. iv. 297 With as sweet a softness as might be Remember'd from its velvet summer song. 1878 Browning Poets Croisic xciii, He..to such purpose intervenes That you get velvet-compliment, three-pile. |
c. With names of colours, as
velvet black,
velvet-blue,
velvet-brown,
velvet-crimson,
velvet-green,
velvet-red.
| 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. 335 Of the suffitus of a torch, doe Painters make a velvet blacke. 1662 Merrett tr. Neri's Art of Glass cii, This is a most fair Velvet Black. 1798 Coleridge Anc. Mar. iv. xiii, Blue, glossy green, and velvet black, They coiled and swam. 1809 Shaw Gen. Zool. VII. ii. 496 Velvet-black Paradise Bird. 1811 Ibid. VIII. i. 292 Velvet-crimson Humming-Bird. 1924 ‘J. Sutherland’ Circle of Stars iv. 26 She looked up sharply to see herself in the mirror, a rather pale face..and dusky velvet-brown eyes. Ibid. ix. 95 Overhead the sky is deep velvet-blue all a-fire with stars. 1952 A. G. L. Hellyer Sanders' Encycl. Gardening (ed. 22) 31 Sanderianus, large, velvet-green with copper-red veins. 1976 Flintshire Leader 10 Dec. 27/1 (Advt.), New Fords for immediate delivery... Granada 2000GL, Velvet Red. |
5. Parasynthetic and instrumental, as
velvet-bearded,
velvet-caped,
velvet-coated,
velvet-draped,
velvet-eared,
velvet-eyed, etc.
| 1611 L. Barry Ram Alley iii. i, These *Veluet bearded boyes will still be doing, say what we old men can. |
| 1593 Marlowe Edw. II, ii. i. 754 A *Veluet cap'de cloake, fac'st before with Serge. |
| 1881 O. Wilde Poems 74 After yon *velvet-coated deer the virgin maid will ride. 1926 M. Leinster Dew on Leaf ii. vi. 227 Your pretty face can charm of itself,..as a pale rose standing still lures the velvet-coated bee. |
| 1888 M. E. Braddon Fatal Three i. i, The gentleman was standing with his back to the *velvet-draped mantel-piece. |
| 1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. I. 540 The hoary white [wheat], by some called the *velvet-eared, is by far the most valuable. |
| 1702 Petiver Gazophyl. i. §10 The *Velvet-eyed Virginia Snap-Beetle. |
| 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair lxi, The *velvet-footed butler brought them their wine. |
| 1691 [? J. Bancroft] Edw. III with Fall Mortimer ii. ii, These Peuking *velvethearted Wary Knaves that pretend to Scruples. |
| 1876 ‘Ouida’ Winter City vi, She let him sit by her in little sheltered *velvet-hung nooks. |
| 1855 Thackeray Newcomes xxxv, The broad-hatted,..*velvet-jacketed, jovial colony of the artists. |
| 1859 Geo. Eliot A. Bede xxxvii, There were the locket and earrings in the little *velvet-lined boxes. |
| 1796 Burke Lett. to Noble Lord Wks. (1907) VI. 71 The demure, insidious,..*velvet-pawed, green-eyed philosophers. |
| 1854 Greenwood Haps & Mishaps 17 The *velvet-sheathed dagger of Queen Elizabeth. |
| 1891 C. James Rom. Rigmarole 103 The two miles home were like walking in *velvet-soled shoes. |
| 1870 Pouchet's Universe 109 Certain *velvet-winged Phalenæ. |
6. Objective, with agent-nouns, as
velvet-dresser,
velvet-maker,
velvet-weaver, etc.; also
velvet merchant.
| 1530 Palsgr. 284/2 Velvetmaker, ueloustier. 1653 Urquhart Rabelais i. lvi. 247 Velvet-weavers, Tapestrie-makers and Upholsterers. 1677 Miége Fr. Dict. i, Veloutier,..a Velvet-maker. 1848 Mill Pol. Econ. i. v. §9 (1876) 51 This change..only transfers Employment from velvet-makers to bricklayers. 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, Velvet-dresser, a cleaner and dyer of velvet. Ibid., Velvet-manufacturer, a weaver of velvet. 1860 Ruskin Unto this Last iv. §76 note, He pays, probably, an intermediate ship-owner, velvet merchant, and shopman. |
7. a. Special
Combs.:
velvet-brush (see
quot.);
† velvet-cap, one who wears a cap of velvet; a physician or student;
velvet carpet, a cut-pile carpet similar to Wilton;
velvet-cloth (see
quots.);
† velvet-coat, ? a young fop;
velvet copper-ore, cyanotrichite;
velvet-cork (see
quot. and
cf. 3 b);
velvet glove, an appearance of suavity and gentleness of manner,
esp. one that masks determination or inflexibility (
cf. iron hand s.v. iron a. 3 c); also
attrib. (with hyphen);
† velvet-guard, a trimming of velvet; a wearer of such trimmings;
† velvet-jacket, an attendant or retainer wearing a jacket of velvet;
velvet-loom, a loom for weaving velvet;
velvet-painting (see
quot. 1849–50);
velvet-paper (see
quot.);
velvet-pile attrib., having a pile like that of velvet; also
absol., a carpet or cloth of this kind;
velvet-plain poet., a card-table;
velvet sauce = velouté;
velvet tip (see sense 2; in
quot. used allusively);
velvet tree,
wire drawer,
work (see
quots.).
| 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, *Velvet-brush, a brush used by ladies to remove dust, &c. from garments made of velvet. |
| 1602 2nd Pt. Return fr. Parnass. ii. i. 554 It is requisite that the French Phisitions be learned and carefull, your English *veluet cap is malignant and enuious. 1630 Randolph Aristippus 12 Euery Prenctice can ieere at their braue Cassockes, and laugh the Veluet Caps out of countenance. |
| 1860 Geo. Eliot Mill on Fl. II. iv. iii. 188 Good society has its claret and its *velvet carpets. 1908 L. M. Montgomery Anne of Green Gables xxix. 325 ‘Velvet carpet,’ sighed Anne luxuriously, ‘and silk curtains!’ 1979 A. S. Garstein How-To Handbk. Carpets ii. 15 At first velvet carpets were woven of solid colors in pile heights ranging from closely woven low pile to longer ‘plush’ fabrics. |
| 1882 Caulfeild & Saward Dict. Needlew. 511/1 *Velvet cloth, a plain cloth with a gloss, employed in Ecclesiastical Embroidery. Ibid., Velvet cloths,..beautifully soft and warm descriptions of cloth, suitable for ladies' jackets. |
| 1549 Latimer 2nd Serm. bef. Edw. VI, E j, Heare menes suetes your selfe I require you in goddes behalfe & put it not to the hearing of these *veluette cotes, these vp skippes. |
| 1850 Ansted Elem. Geol., Min., etc. §504 *Velvet copper ore is probably also a silicate [of copper]. 1855 Orr's Circ. Sci., Geol., etc. 542 (Sulphates) Lettsomite, Velvet Copper Ore. |
| 1883 Simmonds Dict. Trade, *Velvet cork, the best kind of cork bark, which is of a reddish colour. |
| 1850, etc. *Velvet glove [see iron a. 3 c]. 1946 W. S. Maugham Then & Now xxii. 125 The velvet glove was off and the mailed fist was bared. 1969 S. Hyland Top Bloody Secret ii. 202 Concentrated velvet-glove charm. 1973 ‘M. Innes’ Appleby's Answer iv. 41 Blackmail..of the very most genteel and velvet-glove sort. |
| 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, iii. i. 261 Sweare me, Kate,..A good mouth-filling Oath: and leaue in sooth, And such protest of Pepper Ginger-bread, To *Veluet-Guards, and Sunday-Citizens. 1610 Histriomastix iii. i. E j, Out on these veluet gards, and black lac'd sleeues, These simpring fashions simply followed. |
| 1600 Heywood 1 Edw. IV, Wks. 1874 I. 17 Spoken like a man, and true *veluet-iacket, And we will enter, or strike by the way. |
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. 2699/1 *Velvet-loom, a pile-fabric loom. |
| 1809 Charges against H.R.H. Duke of York 386/1 Did he ever instruct you in *velvet-painting? 1813 Examiner 10 May 298/1 A little skill in velvet painting. 1849–50 Weale Dict. Terms, Velvet painting is the art of colouring on velvet with transparent liquid and other ready diluted colours. |
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. 2699/1 *Velvet-paper, wall-paper printed with glue and dusted with shearings of cloth or flock. |
| 1851 Catal. Gt. Exhib. ii. 564/1 *Velvet-pile carpeting. Ibid., Patent velvet-pile and Brussels carpets. 1862 Catal. Internat. Exhib., Brit. II. No. 4006, Pilots, Cheviots, velvet piles. |
| 1780 Cowper Progr. Error 169 Oh the dear pleasures of the *velvet plain, The painted tablets, dealt and dealt again. |
| 1893 T. F. Garrett Encycl. Pract. Cookery II. 398/2 *Velvet sauce (Velouté). 1952 E. White Good Eng. Food iv. i. 171 Aspic Cream. Take ½ pint of liquid aspic jelly and mix it with 1/4 pint of velvet sauce.., 1/4 pint thick cream and four sheets of gelatine. |
| 1638 Ford Fancies iii. iii, What, what, what, what! nothing but *velvet tips; you are of the first head yet. |
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. 2699/1 *Velvet-tree (Puddling), the point where the draft from the neck of the furnace is turned upward into the stack. |
| 1883 Simmonds Dict. Trade, *Velvet wire drawer, a manufacturer of the metal wire used in velvet making. |
| 1882 Caulfeild & Saward Dict. Needlew. 511/1 *Velvet work..is..largely used in Church Embroideries as a background for altar cloths and hangings. |
b. In names of animals (birds, insects, etc.), as
velvet ant, (
a) a spider-ant (
Cent. Dict. 1891); (
b) a parasitic wasp of the family Mutillidæ, having a velvety appearance;
velvet crab, a species of swimming crab (
Portunus puber);
velvet-duck, a species of scoter (
Œdemia fusca);
velvet fairy (see
quot.);
velvet fiddler crab,
= velvet crab;
velvet fish (see
quot.);
† velvet runner, the water-rail;
velvet scoter,
= velvet duck;
velvet sponge (see
quots.).
| 1748 M. Catesby Nat. Hist. Carolina App. 13 The *Velvet Ant... The whole body and head resembled crimson velvet. 1842 T. W. Harris Insects Injurious to Vegetation 14 Stinging velvet-ants..are predaceous in their habits. 1932 E. Step Bees, Wasps, Ants Brit. Isles 57 The Velvet-ants are not Ants: the name is only a courtesy title given when..the wingless female..was a more familiar object than the winged male. 1968 T. Wolfe Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test xxi. 305 He can feel..every verruga fly, velvet ant, murine fleas and crabs. 1975 Sci. Amer. Dec. 115/1 The natural enemies of Bembix include mutillid wasps (sometimes called velvet ants). |
| 1681 Grew Musæum i. v. iv. 120 The Claw of the Punger, or the *Velvet-Crab, called Pagurus. 1850 Miss Pratt Comm. Things Sea-side v. 288 Some of the most beautiful of our British crabs are those termed Velvet-crabs, on account of the velvety down with which the shell is covered. 1862 Ansted Channel Islands ii. ix. 232 The spider crab, and swimming or velvet crab, are also eaten. |
| 1678 Ray Willughby's Ornith. 363 The feathers of the whole body are so soft and delicate as nothing more, so that it might be not undeservedly called the *Velvet-Duck. 1768 Pennant Brit. Zool. II. 493 Velvet Duck;..the plumage is of a fine black, and of the soft and delicate appearance of velvet. 1840 P. Hawker Diary (1893) II. 175, I made a capital shot at 6 black velvet ducks. 1870 Gillmore tr. Figuier's Reptiles & Birds 235 The Velvet Duck (Anas fusca)..is the largest of the Scoters. |
| 1881 Lyell Fancy Pigeons 86 The black Nürnberg swallow has most of these grease quills, and from its beautiful green lustre is called the ‘*velvet fairy’. |
| 1882 Cassell's Nat. Hist. VI. 199 The *Velvet Fiddler Crab (Portunus puber) has..its entire carapace densely covered with hairs. |
| 1898 Morris Austral Eng. 489/1 *Velvet-fish, [the] name given in Tasmania to the fish Holoxenus cutaneus. |
| 1678 Ray Willughby's Ornith. 315 The *Velvet Runner. 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), Velvet-Runner, a Water-Fowl, whose Feathers are black and smooth as Velvet. |
| 1843 Yarrell Brit. Birds III. 215 Oidemia fusca, *Velvet Scoter. |
| 1882 Cassell's Nat. Hist. VI. 318 The ‘wool’ Sponge, which appears to be one or perhaps two species of the Hippospongia, H. gossypina, and H. meandriformis, the ‘*velvet’ Sponge. 1883 W. S. Kent in Fisheries Bahamas 47 The so-called Velvet, Abacco-velvet, or Boat-sponge (S. equina, var. meandriniformis), differing from the Sheep's-wool in the absence of the fleece-like tufts upon its outer surface. |
c. In names of plants, as
velvet-bean, an annual climbing-plant (
Macuna utilis) bearing velvety pods;
velvet-bur, a tropical plant of the vervain family;
velvet-dock, common mullein;
velvet-ear(ed) wheat,
= velvet wheat;
† velvet-flower (see
quots.);
velvet flower-de-luce,
-grass,
-moss (see
quots.);
velvet rose, a variety of rose with velvety petals;
velvet-seed, a small evergreen West Indian tree;
velvet wheat, a variety of white wheat with downy ears.
| 1898 Gardener's Mag. 3 Sept. 569/2 The accounts..respecting the agricultural value of the Florida *velvet bean must be received with caution. |
| 1866 Treas. Bot. 1207/2 *Velvet-bur, Priva echinata. |
| 1863 Prior Plant-n., *Velvet-Dock, from its soft leaves, Verbascum Thapsus. |
| 1837 Brit. Husb. (L.U.K.) II. 138 We have..the ‘golden-ear’, the ‘*velvet-ear’, the ‘egg-shell’, and ‘hedge-wheat’. |
| 1862 Morton Farmer's Cal. 547 Among white wheats..the *Velvet-eared, a short-strawed sort, is of remarkable quality and productiveness. |
| 1548 Turner Names Herbes (E.D.S.) 11 The other kynde [of Amaranthus] is called here in Englande of some purple *veluet floure, of other flouramore. Ibid. 80 Viola flammea,..in englishe veluet floure or french Marigoulde. 1573 Tusser Husb. (1878) 96 Veluet flowers, or french Marigolds. 1578 Lyte Dodoens i. xviii. 168 These pleasant..floures are called..in English floure Gentill, Floramor, and Purple veluet floure. [Hence in Gerarde and Cotgr.] 1863 Prior Plant-n., Velvet-flower, from its crimson velvety tassels, Amaranthus caudatus. |
| 1597 Gerarde Herbal 94 Iris Tuberosa. *Veluet flower de-luce. |
| 1856 A. Gray Man. Bot. (1860) 573 Holcus lanatus, *Velvet-Grass. |
| 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, *Velvet-moss, a name for the Gyrophora murina, a lichen used in dyeing, obtained in the Dovrefeldt mountains of Norway. |
| 1597 Gerarde Herbal 1085 Rosa Holosericea, the *veluet Rose... The flowers..of a deepe and blacke red colour, resembling red crimson veluet, whereupon some haue called it the Veluet Rose. 1786 Abercrombie Gard. Assist., Arr. 33/1 Velvet rose (single). 1893 G. D. Leslie Lett. Marco i. 5 A rose that is almost obsolete,..called the velvet rose. |
| 1866 Treas. Bot. 1207/2 *Velvet-seed, Guettarda elliptica. |
| 1771 A. Young Farmer's Tour East Eng. II. 485 Mr. Arbuthnot gathered six ears of this wheat,..and carrying it to market, the farmers remarked that they knew it, but had lost the sort, and called it *velvit wheat. 1856 Morton Cycl. Agric. II. 1131/1 Some Scotch wheats have become greatly mixed with velvet wheat. |
Add:
[7.] [a.] velvet revolution [
tr. Czech
sametová revoluce], a non-violent political revolution,
esp. one in which a totalitarian regime is replaced;
spec. the sequence of events in Czechoslovakia which led to the ending of communist rule in late 1989.
| [1989 Guardian 29 Nov. 23 (heading) The gentle revolution.] 1989 N.Y. Times 9 Dec. i. 9/1 This was a special way of declaring their faith in what has come to be called the *velvet revolution, for its gentle, nonviolent quality. 1990 Independent 17 June (Sunday Rev.) 20/1 Now that ‘velvet’ revolutions are all the rage, Citizens never shirks from examining the bloodlust of 1789. |
▸
velvet divorce n.after
velvet revolution n. at Additions the non-violent split, in 1992, of Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
| 1992 Financial Times 8 June 15 (heading) Czechs and Slovaks reconsider the federation. Following weekend elections, the two peoples may be heading for a ‘*velvet divorce’. 2005 Australian (Nexis) 22 June 12 The Czech Republic—home of the Velvet Revolution and a subsequent velvet divorce from Slovakia—is also one of the most successful and resilient of the former Eastern bloc nations. |
▪ II. ˈvelvet, v. rare.
[f. prec.] 1. intr. To imitate velvet in painting.
| 1612 Peacham Gentl. Exerc. 83 Take your verditure,..it is the faintest and palest greene that is, but it is good to veluet vpon blacke in any manner of drapery. |
2. trans. ‘To make like velvet; to cover with velvet’ (W.) Also
fig.| 1864 in Webster. 1959 R. Graves Coll. Poems 96 We velveted our love with fantasy Down a long vista-row of Christmas trees. |