noun
- a fabric of silk, nylon, acetate, rayon, etc., sometimes having a cotton backing, with a thick, soft pile formed of loops of the warp thread either cut at the outer end or left uncut.
- something likened to the fabric velvet, as in softness or texture: the velvet of her touch; the velvet of the lawn.
- the soft, deciduous covering of a growing antler.
- Informal. a very pleasant, luxurious, desirable situation.
- Informal.
- money gained through gambling; winnings.
- clear gain or profit, especially when more than anticipated.
adjective
- Also vel·vet·ed. made of velvet or covered with velvet.
- Also vel·vet·like. resembling or suggesting velvet; smooth; soft; velvety: a velvet night; a cat’s velvet fur.
noun
-
- a fabric of silk, cotton, nylon, etc, with a thick close soft usually lustrous pile
- (as modifier)velvet curtains
- anything with a smooth soft surface
-
- smoothness; softness
- (as modifier)velvet skin; a velvet night
- the furry covering of the newly formed antlers of a deer
- slang, mainly US
- gambling or speculative winnings
- a gain, esp when unexpectedly high
- velvet glove gentleness or caution, often concealing strength or determination (esp in the phrase an iron fist or hand in a velvet glove)
early 14c., probably from Old Provençal veluet, from Vulgar Latin *villutittus, diminutive of Vulgar Latin villutus “velvet,” literally “shaggy cloth,” from Latin villus “shaggy hair, nap of cloth, tuft of hair,” probably a dialectal variant of vellus “fleece.”
see under iron hand.