paisley

P3A1I1S1L1E1Y4
/ˈpeɪzli/

noun

A motif of a swirling droplet.

Similar
botehPersian pickleWelsh pear
OriginScottish Gaelic Pàislig →
Less commonScrabble 12
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Meanings

paisley1

nounpaisley (countable and uncountable, plural paisleys)

plural paisleys

  1. countableuncountableA motif of a swirling droplet.

    Synonyms: boteh, Persian pickle, Welsh pear

  2. countableuncountableA soft woollen fabric having this motif.
adjectivepaisley (not comparable)
  1. not comparableMade from this fabric, or marked with this design.

    He would be in his paisley silk dressing gown.

    2014, Ian McEwan, The Children Act, Penguin Random House (2018), page 173
    1 more example

    I shall be wearing a Paisley shawl with a red centre, and thus may easily be found.

    1886, Thomas Hardy, The Mayor of Casterbridge

Paisley2

proper nounPaisley (countable and uncountable, plural Paisleys)

plural Paisleys

  1. countableuncountableA town, the administrative centre of Renfrewshire council area, Scotland (OS grid ref NS4863).
  2. countableuncountableA locality in the Murray Mallee region, South Australia.
  3. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community and village in Bruce County, Ontario, Canada.
  4. countableuncountableA census-designated place in Lake County, Florida, United States.
  5. countableuncountableA small city in Lake County, Oregon, United States.
  6. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Greene County, Pennsylvania, United States.
  7. countableuncountableA habitational surname from Scottish Gaelic.
  8. countableuncountableA unisex given name from the surname.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA motif of a swirling droplet.

Similar
botehPersian pickleWelsh pear
Also see
persian picklewelsh pear

Origin

paisley · noun, adjective

From Paisley, Renfrewshire, in Scotland, where shawls of this kind were woven in the 1800s.

Full word history & related roots →

Paisley · proper noun

  1. Scottish GaelicPàislig“pasture”
  2. EnglishPaisley

From Scottish Gaelic Pàislig (“pasture”). Despite occasional respellings such as Paisleigh, this word does not etymologically contain the suffix -ley/-leigh.

More words from Scottish Gaelic

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 佩斯利花布, 變形蟲花布 /变形虫花布
  • 佩斯利花布fabric
  • 變形蟲花布 /变形虫花布fabric
  • 佩斯利紋 /佩斯利纹motif
  • 變形蟲紋 /变形虫纹motif
Dutch paisley-stof, paisley
  • paisley-stoffabric
  • paisleymotif
Finnish kašmirkuvioinen kangas, kašmirkuvio
  • kašmirkuvioinen kangasfabric
  • kašmirkuviomotif
French motif cachemire
  • motif cachemiremotif
German Paisley, Paisleymuster
  • Paisleymotif
  • Paisleymustermotif
Indonesian keongan
  • keonganmotif
Japanese ペーズリー
  • ペーズリー (pēzurī)motif
Persian بته جقه, سرو خمیده
  • بته جقه (botte jeqqe)motif
  • سرو خمیده (sarv-e xamide)motif
Polish paisley
  • paisleymotif
Russian «туре́цкие огурцы́»
  • «туре́цкие огурцы́»motif
Cite this entry
APA

paisley. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paisley

MLA

“paisley.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paisley. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “paisley,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paisley.

Source: paisley on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.