velvet

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun A soft fabric having a smooth, dense pile and a plain underside.
• noun Something suggesting the smooth surface of velvet.
• noun Smoothness; softness.
• noun The soft, furry covering on the developing antlers of deer.
• noun The winnings of a gambler.
• noun A profit or gain beyond what is expected or due.

from The Century Dictionary.

• To produce velvet-painting.
• To cover with velvet; cause to resemble velvet.
• noun A closely woven silk stuff having a very thick and short pile on one side, which is formed by carrying part of the warp-thread over a needle, and cutting the loops afterward.
• noun The covering of a growing antler, consisting of the modified periosteum peculiar to antlers, with cuticle and fur.
• noun Money gained through gambling: as, to play on velvet (that is, to gamble with money previously won). [Slang.]
• Made of velvet.
• Soft and smooth to the touch; resembling velvet in this respect.
• Very soft and smooth to the taste: as, old velvet Bourbon.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• adjective Made of velvet; soft and delicate, like velvet; velvety.
• intransitive verb rare To pain velvet.
• transitive verb rare To make like, or cover with, velvet.
• noun A silk fabric, having a short, close nap of erect threads. Inferior qualities are made with a silk pile on a cotton or linen back, or with other soft fibers such as nylon, acetate, or rayon.
• noun The soft and highly vascular deciduous skin which envelops and nourishes the antlers of deer during their rapid growth.
• noun Something likened to velvet{1} in being soft or luxurious.
• noun an imitation of velvet, made of cotton.
• noun the best kind of cork bark, supple, elastic, and not woody or porous.
• noun (Zoöl.) a European crab (Portunus puber). When adult the black carapace is covered with a velvety pile. Called also lady crab, and velvet fiddler.
• noun (Bot.) the common mullein.
• noun (Zoöl.) The American whitewinged scoter. See Scoter.
• noun (Bot.) love-lies-bleeding. See under Love.
• noun (Bot.) a tall grass (Holcus lanatus) with velvety stem and leaves; -- called also soft grass.
• noun (Zoöl.), [Prov. Eng.] the water rail; -- so called from its quiet, stealthy manner of running.
• noun (Zoöl.) Same as Velvet duck, above.
• noun (Zoöl.) See under Sponge.
• noun having a coating of velvet{2} over the antlers; in the annual stage where the antlers are still growing; -- of deer.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun A closely woven fabric (originally of silk, now also of cotton or man-made fibres) with a thick short pile on one side.
• noun Very fine fur, including the skin and fur on a deer's antlers.
• verb cooking To coat raw meat in starch, then in oil, preparatory to frying

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• adjective resembling velvet in having a smooth soft surface
• noun a silky densely piled fabric with a plain back
• adjective smooth and soft to sight or hearing or touch or taste