poult-de-soie

[ French pooduh-swah ]

noun

1. a soft, ribbed silk fabric, used especially for dresses.

Word History and Origins

Origin of poult-de-soie¹

From French, dating back to 1825–35; paduasoy

Example Sentences

Her costume, however, will be far less regal than that of President Tyler's second wife, "the Rose of Long Island," who received on a dais, wearing a crownlike headdress of bugles: Mamie's glittering, wide-skirted inaugural gown, designed by Nettie Rosenstein and purchased from Texas' Neiman-Marcus, is of pale rose poult-de-soie, bespangled by 2,000 rhinestones in varying shades of pink.

From Time Magazine Archive

The bodice, which was one with the skirt, was partly hidden beneath a mantle of poult-de-soie edged with black lace, and fastened on the bosom by a brooch enclosing a miniature.

From Project Gutenberg

He persisted in dressing, as in his youth, in black silk stockings, shoes with gold buckles, breeches of black poult-de-soie, and a black coat, adorned with the red rosette.

From Project Gutenberg