peau de soie

/pəʊdəˈswɑː/

noun

A heavy closely-woven silk fabric, faced with satin on both sides.

OriginFrench peau de soie →
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Meanings

nounpeau de soie (uncountable)

alternative peau-de-soie

  1. uncountableA heavy closely-woven silk fabric, faced with satin on both sides.

    She was in pale violet peau de soie, and a hat so beguiling that Kit was only momentarily surprised to find himself with an erection.

    2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage, published 2007, page 611

Origin

  1. Frenchpeau de soie“skin of silk”
  2. Englishpeau de soie

From French peau de soie (“skin of silk”), perhaps originally a trademark.

More words from French

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

peau de soie. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/peau%20de%20soie

MLA

“peau de soie.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/peau%20de%20soie. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “peau de soie,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/peau%20de%20soie.

Source: peau de soie on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.