Meanings
plural satins
- countableuncountableA cloth woven from silk, nylon or polyester with a glossy surface and a dull back. (The same weaving technique applied to cotton produces cloth termed sateen).
Ibn Batuta informs us that a rich silk texture made here was called Zaitûniya; and there can be little doubt that this is the real origin of our word Satin,—Zettani in mediæval Italian, Aceytuni in Spanish.
1878, Henry Yule, "Chinchew" in the Encyclopædia Britannica, 9th ed., Vol. V, p. 673 - countableobsoleteslanguncountableGin (the drink).
'This poor gal was robbed, barely left a stitch, that and the drink... mind, I likes a drop of satin – wot you'd call gin – myself. I'll say nothing against it. She ended thrown out of an upstairs winder.'
2014, Richard Gordon, The Private Life of Jack the Ripper, page 13
present singular third person satins · participle present satining · participle past satined · past satined
- transitiveTo make (paper, silver, etc.) smooth and glossy like satin.
Origin
- Frenchsatin
- Englishsatin
From French satin, which is derived from "Zaitun", the Arabic name for the Chinese city of Quanzhou, itself derived from Arabic زَيْتُون (zaytūn, “Zayton; olive”), from phono-semantic matching from Chinese 刺桐 (MC tshjeH duwng, “coral tree”) in 刺桐城 (MC tshjeH duwng dzyeng, “coral tree town”), an old name for Quanzhou.
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic أَطْلَس, صَقِيل
- أَطْلَس (ʔaṭlas)cloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
- صَقِيل (ṣaqīl)smooth and shiny
Bulgarian атлаз, сатен
- атлаз (atlaz)cloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
- сатен (saten)cloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
- лъскав (lăskav)smooth and shiny
- гланцов (glancov)smooth and shiny
Catalan setí, ras
- setícloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
- rascloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
Chinese Mandarin 緞子 /缎子, 色丁
- 緞子 /缎子 (duànzi)cloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
- 色丁 (sèdīng)cloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
- 緞紋 /缎纹 (duànwén)cloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
Czech atlas
- atlascloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
Dutch satijn
- satijncloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
Esperanto sateno
- satenocloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
Finnish satiini
- satiinicloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
French satin, satiné
- satincloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
- satinésmooth and shiny
German Satin, Satinstoff
- Satincloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
- Satinstoffcloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
- Satintuchcloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
- Atlasstoffcloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
- Atlastuchcloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
- Atlasgewebecloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
Greek ατλάζι, σατινέ
- ατλάζι (atlázi)cloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
- σατινέ (satiné)smooth and shiny
- σατινένιος (satinénios)smooth and shiny
Hindi अतलस
- अतलस (atlas)cloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
Indonesian satin
- satincloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
Italian satin m raso
- satin m rasocloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
Japanese 本繻子, 繻子
- 本繻子 (honshusu)cloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
- 繻子 (shusu)cloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
- サテン (saten)cloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
- 朱子 (shusu)cloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
- サティン (satin)cloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
Korean 새틴, 공단
- 새틴 (saetin)cloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
- 공단 (gongdan)cloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
Māori hatini
- hatinicloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
Persian اطلس, ساتن
- اطلس (atlas)cloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
- ساتن (sâtan)cloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
Polish atłas
- atłascloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
Portuguese cetim
- cetimcloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
Russian атла́с, сати́н
- атла́с (atlás)cloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
- сати́н (satín)cloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
Spanish raso, satén
- rasocloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
- saténcloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
Swedish satin, satäng
- satincloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
- satängcloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
Thai ต่วน
- ต่วน (dtùuan)cloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
Turkish atlas, saten
- atlascloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
- satencloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
Ukrainian атла́с, сати́н
- атла́с (atlás)cloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
- сати́н (satýn)cloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
Urdu اطلس
- اطلس (atlas)cloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
Vietnamese xa-tanh
- xa-tanhcloth with a glossy surface and a dull back
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with satin
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
satin. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/satin
“satin.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/satin. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “satin,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/satin.
Source: satin on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.