Definition of "velvet" in Anglais

noun

1. A closely woven fabric (originally of silk, now also of cotton or man-made fibres) with a thick short pile on one side.

2. Very fine fur, including the skin and fur on a deer's antlers.

3. (rare, countable) A female chinchilla; a sow.

4. (slang, uncountable) The drug dextromethorphan.

5. (slang, uncountable) Money acquired by gambling.

verb

1. To cover with velvet or with a covering of a similar texture.

2. (cooking) To coat raw meat in starch, then in oil, preparatory to frying.

3. To remove the velvet from a deer's antlers.

   • 2014, "Top genetic selection produces biggest antlers," NZFarmer.co.nz, 12 July, 2014, http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/agribusiness/10255646/Top-genetic-selection-produces-biggest-antlers Reacting to painkillers when velveted, Sovereign II was too sick to grow antlers last year, but has since recovered.

4. (figurative, transitive) To soften; to mitigate.

5. (of a cat's claws) to retract.

adjective

1. Made of velvet.

2. Soft and delicate, like velvet; velvety.

3. (politics) Peaceful; carried out without violence; especially as pertaining to the peaceful breakup of Czechoslovakia.

   • “I was once invited to give a speech about the attempt to topple Iran's political system through a ‘velvet revolution,’ ” says Etaat in the debate, “but we all know that ‘velvet revolutions’ always occur in dictatorships.”