chenille
English
![](Images/wiktionary/Chenille_Fabric.jpg.webp)
Chenille fabric on a sofa
Etymology
Borrowed from French chenille. Doublet of canicule.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʃəˈniːl/
Audio (UK) (file) - Rhymes: -iːl
Noun
chenille (countable and uncountable, plural chenilles)
- An extremely soft and bunchy fabric often used to make sweaters.
- 1929, M. Barnard Eldershaw, A House is Built, Chapter VII, Section vi
- The house seemed unfamiliar in the dark stormy light; the red and purple glass of the front door made livid bruises on the linoleum; the green chenille curtain was like a veil of seaweed.
- 1929, M. Barnard Eldershaw, A House is Built, Chapter VII, Section vi
Derived terms
- chenille plant
Anagrams
- Hellenic
French
Etymology
Inherited from Latin canīcula (“little dog”) (because of a caterpillar's head). Doublet of canicule.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʃə.nij/, /knij/
Audio (CAN) (file)
Noun
chenille f (plural chenilles)
- caterpillar
- chenille
- caterpillar track, snow chain
- whirligig (fairground attraction)
Descendants
- → Catalan: xenilla
- → English: chenille
- → Italian: ciniglia
- → Romanian: șenilă
- → Russian: шинель (šinelʹ)
See also
- mite
- papillon m
Further reading
- “chenille”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.