Silk
/sɪlk/noun
A fine, soft fiber produced by silkworms and woven into a lustrous fabric.
Did you know?The English word comes through Old English and Proto-Germanic from a very old East Asian trade term, showing how a single luxury fiber traveled across continents and changed languages along the way.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Sino-Tibetan / Ancient Chinese
Chinese
sī
“silk”
Old Chinese
OC
*sə
“silk thread or silk fabric”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*silkaz
“silk”
Old English
English
seoloc
“silk”
Middle English
English
silk
“silk, the lustrous textile”
Modern English
English
silk
“a fine textile made from silkworm fibers”
Explore more surprising origins