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chenille

[ shuh-neel ]

noun

  1. a velvety cord or yarn of silk or worsted, for embroidery, fringes, etc.
  2. fabric made with a fringed silken thread used as the weft in combination with wool or cotton.
  3. any fabric with a protruding pile, as in certain rayon bedspreads.
  4. a deep-pile, durable, woolen carpeting with chenille weft: the most expensive power-loomed floor covering.


chenille

/ ʃəˈniːl /

noun

  1. a thick soft tufty silk or worsted velvet cord or yarn used in embroidery and for trimmings, etc
  2. a fabric of such yarn
  3. a rich and hard-wearing carpet of such fabric
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Word History and Origins

Origin of chenille1

1730–40; < French: velvety cord, literally, caterpillar < Latin canīcula, with etymological sense “little dog,” though attested only in senses “shrewish woman, dogfish, Sirius” ( canicular ); for parallel use of “cat” in same sense, caterpillar
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Word History and Origins

Origin of chenille1

C18: from French, literally: hairy caterpillar, from Latin canicula, diminutive of canis dog
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Example Sentences

Run a narrow velvet through the holes of the third row and affix wider velvet ends, or chenille tassels to each extremity.

Her prize was a gay little chenille imp, which she stuck in her hair with great glee.

On the chenille-covered table in the middle of the room stood a vase with artificial flowers.

There is this against chenille, that its texture is not sympathetic to the touch, and that there is a stuffy look about it always.

The holiday hat is the same, save for a roll of brightly and many tinted chenille.

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