Satins

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of fabric known for its smooth, glossy surface that is often used in clothing and upholstery
2. A textile characterized by a soft, lustrous finish, typically woven with a satin weave, and popular in luxury garments
3. A material distinguished by its shiny, reflective appearance on one side and a dull finish on the other, commonly associated with formal wear and decorative items

Etymology: The plural "satins" simply refers to several pieces or kinds of the fabric, and the noun it comes from traces back to a port city on the far side of the Eurasian trade routes. French "satin" derives from "Zaitun", the Arabic name for the Chinese city of Quanzhou. That Arabic name was itself drawn from "zaytūn", meaning "olive", through a kind of phono-semantic matching with the Chinese "刺桐" (cìtóng, "coral tree"), part of the old city name 刺桐城, "coral tree town". So a fabric named for a Chinese port has an Arabic-sounding name that is really a Chinese place name, reshaped by sound and meaning. The fabric itself was traded through Quanzhou, which helps explain how the name travelled westward. Once in French, the word settled on the smooth, shining weave that gives the cloth its character, and the English word followed the same path, so the plural simply counts the bolts or garments made from it.

Synonyms: silks, fabrics, textiles