silky

From Middle English sylky, equivalent to silk +‎ -y.

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɪlki/

• Audio (US):

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• Rhymes: -ɪlki
• Homophone: Sylki

silky (comparative silkier, superlative silkiest)

1. Similar in appearance or texture (especially in softness and smoothness) to silk.

   silky hair

   cloth with a silky lustre

   • , “The Field and the Heath”, in Beauties and Wonders of Vegetable Life; , London: The Religious Tract Society, , →OCLC, page 263:

     A portion of the Baromez does present a rude resemblance in its shape to the figure of an animal, and is covered by a soft downy substance, which may be compared to a silky fleece, of a reddish-brown colour, and which gives to it more the appearance of a dog than a lamb.

   • 1964, Thomas Berger, “My Indian Wife”, in Little Big Man, New York, N.Y.: Dial Press, →LCCN, page 214:

     Then I looked close at the scalp he stroked, which was of the silkiest blonde. For a moment I was sure it come from Olga’s dear head, and reckoned also he had little Gus’s fine skull-cover someplace among his filthy effects, the stinking old savage, living out his life of murder, rapine, and squalor, and I almost knifed him before I collected myself and realized the hair was honeyer than my Swedish wife’s.

   • 1986, E. N. Welch, “Just an Unofficial Investigation”, in Cynthia Manson, editor, Murder on Main Street: Small-Town Crime from Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine & Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, New York, N.Y.: Barnes & Noble Books, published 1993, →ISBN, page 238:

     The door opened, and there stood Miss Ellerby, looking as Miss Ellerby should, unschoolmarmish and casually chic in a silky shirt, faded jeans, and running shoes.

2. Smooth and pleasant; seductive.

   a silky wine

   a silky voice

   silky skills

   • 2017, Gary L. Friedman, The Friedman Archives Guide to the Sony RX-10 IV:

     If you have a circular polarizer or a neutral density (grey) filter, put that in front of the lens too. This will slow down the shutter speed even further to get silkier, smoothier (that's a word!) water motion.

3. (botany) Covered in long, slender, glistening hairs pressed close to the surface; sericeous.
4. (slang) Having sensibilities of mainstream culture, in contrast to crunchy.

   Cribs and formula, strollers and baby food epitomize silky parenting.

• (like silk): silken, silklike; seric (rare)

silky (plural silkies)

1. Alternative spelling of silkie

• “silky”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “silky”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• Random House Webster's Unabridged Electronic Dictionary (1987-1996)

• Kisly