Velours

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A soft fabric resembling plush or velvet, often used for upholstery and garments
2. A textile characterized by its luxurious texture, typically made with a blend of cotton and synthetic fibers
3. A type of material that features a raised surface, providing a rich and sumptuous feel often utilized in high-end fashion and decor

Etymology: "Velours" is the plural of "velour", and the singular is the one that carries the history. It was borrowed from French, where "velours" means "velvet", and the French word goes back to Old French "velluel", ultimately from Latin "villosus", meaning "shaggy" or "hairy". The English form keeps the French spelling and pronunciation, which signals that it arrived as a fabric name rather than as a native English term. The name points to what the cloth was originally: a pile fabric, its surface raised in soft, short fibres, which is the same quality that defines velvet. Over time "velour" came to name a family of plush, napped fabrics, with the modern blended versions you describe being one branch of that family. The plural "velours" simply refers to more than one such fabric, or to several pieces of it.

Synonyms: velvet, fabric, cloth, textile