silky C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities US /ˈsɪlki/ UK /ˈsɪlki/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 adj smooth, soft, and glossy like silk The cat's silky fur gleamed in the afternoon sun. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adj · smooth, soft, and glossy... silkensmoothsoftglossylustroussleek ↔ Opposites coarseroughscratchy Word family Forms silkiness Derived forms silkinesssilkily Related forms silksilkensilklike Etymology AI details From silk (from Old English seolc, ultimately from Latin sericum via Greek serikos) plus the adjectival suffix -y. seolc Old English View etymology graph -> Topics Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # silky **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** adj **IPA (US):** /ˈsɪlki/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈsɪlki/ ## Meanings 1. smooth, soft, and glossy like silk ## Examples - The cat's silky fur gleamed in the afternoon sun. ## Synonyms - silken - smooth - soft - glossy - lustrous - sleek ## Antonyms - coarse - rough - scratchy ## Derived Forms - silkiness - silkily ## Related Forms - silk - silken - silklike ## Roots and Affixes - Root: seolc ## Etymology From silk (from Old English seolc, ultimately from Latin sericum via Greek serikos) plus the adjectival suffix -y. ## AI Etymology Silky comes from silk (from Old English seolc, ultimately from Latin sericum via Greek serikos) plus the adjectival suffix -y. The historical chain includes Old English seolc. Morphologically, silky is best read as suffixal formation and borrowing, yielding an English adjective shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as an adjective, with the sense "smooth, soft, and glossy like silk". English derivatives include silkiness and silkily; related forms include silk, silken, and silklike. The result is an English adjective whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning. ## Topics - Describing Qualities - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown