The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
n. A crisp, smooth, plain-woven fabric with a slight sheen, made of various fibers, such as silk, rayon, or nylon, and used especially for women's garments.
n. A crisp, smooth woven fabric made from silk or synthetic fibers.
the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
n. A fine, smooth stuff of silk, having usually the wavy luster called watering. The term has also been applied to different kinds of silk goods, from the 16th century to modern times.
The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
n. A silk or linen fabric: a name applied at different times to very different materials.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
n. a crisp smooth lustrous fabric
Word Usage
"Weir, was derived from a kind of taffeta or ribbed silk which used to be called tabby silk."