swansdown

[ swonz-doun ]

noun

1. the down or under plumage of a swan, used for trimming, powder puffs, etc.
2. a fine, soft, thick woolen cloth.
3. a sturdy cotton flannel with a thickly napped face.

Word History and Origins

Origin of swansdown¹

First recorded in 1600–10; swan ¹ + 's ¹ + down ²

Example Sentences

The bed is covered in silk pillows made of swansdown, and thick blankets embroidered with the Chrysanthemum House emblem.

From Literature

Even the little one lingers at the edge, holding swansdown puffs, ready to spray Sophia with a perfume atomizer.

From Literature

When Andy took to his bed for the last time, the boys bought him a genuine swansdown pillow that cost seven dollars.

From Literature

No shining angel with a golden halo straight from Tiffany’s, a French horn, and wings fabricated out of pristine Chinese swansdown arrived to bless Amarante’s fertile imagination; rather, a half-toothless, one-eyed bum sort of coyote dressed in tattered blue jeans and sandals, and sporting a pair of drab moth-eaten wings that looked as if they had come off the remainder shelves of a disreputable cut-rate discount store during a fire-damage sale, appeared.

From Literature

Interlude The saxophone wails, the martini glass is drained, and night like black swansdown settles on the city.

From Slate