samite

[ sam-ahyt, sey-mahyt ]

noun

1. a heavy silk fabric, sometimes interwoven with gold, worn in the Middle Ages.

samite

/ ˈsæmaɪt; ˈseɪ- /

noun

1. a heavy fabric of silk, often woven with gold or silver threads, used in the Middle Ages for clothing

Word History and Origins

Origin of samite¹

1300–50; Middle English samit < Old French < Medieval Latin examitium, samitium < Greek hexámiton, neuter of hexámitos having six threads. See hexa-, mitosis

Word History and Origins

Origin of samite¹

C13: from Old French samit, from Medieval Latin examitum, from Greek hexamiton, from hexamitos having six threads, from hex six + mitos a thread

Example Sentences

He was standing with his arms out straight while they draped him with ermine, velvet, samite, brocade, and cloth of gold.

From Literature

It concairned a hand and arm, in samite, with a bridle and a candle in its gripe.

From Literature

Textile experts at the Anglo-Saxon Laboratory in York, England, identified several samples as silk samite, a luxury fabric produced in weavers’ workshops in Byzantium, North Africa, or southern Spain.

From National Geographic

In his honor Daenerys had donned a Qartheen gown, a sheer confection of violet samite cut so as to leave her left breast bare.

From Literature

He was in crimson samite, his black mantle studded with rubies, on his head his heavy golden crown.

From Literature

Related Words

• fiber
• taffeta
• thread
• tulle