fleecen.
/fliːs/, U.S. /flis/ 1.
a. The woolly covering of a sheep or similar animal.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > fleece > [noun]
fleecea1000
shear1801
the world > animals > animal body > general parts > covering or skin > [noun] > coat > hair, wool, or fur
fleecea1000
dowlc1535
pilagea1626
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > genus Ovus > [noun] > Ovus Aries (domestic sheep) > body and parts of > fleece
fleecea1000
woolc1540
wether1879
a1000 Laws Ina c. 69 Sceap sceal gongan mid his fliese oð midne sumor.
c1000 Ags. Ps. lxxii. 6 And [he] astag swe swe regn in fleos.
c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 36 Monie cumeð to ow ischrud mid lombes fleos. & beoð wedde wulues.
a1300 E.E. Psalter lxxii. 6 He sal com down als rain in flees soft.
1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Gen. xxx. 35 Al the flok of o colour, that is, of whyet or of blak flese.
?1507 W. Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen (Rouen) in Poems (1998) I. 52 Cled in cair weid, As foxe in a lambis fleise fenȝe I my cheir.
a1525 (c1448) R. Holland Bk. Howlat l. 753 in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1925) II. 118 Thow ioyuss fleiss of gedion.
?1553 (c1501) G. Douglas Palice of Honour (London) iii. l. 1603 in Shorter Poems (1967) 102 To wyn the fleys [1579 Edinb. fleis] of gold.
1563 N. Winȝet tr. St. Vincent of Lérins For Antiq. Catholike Fayth xxxi, in Certain Tractates (1890) II. 65 Maid as certane fleisis of wow.
1637 T. Morton New Eng. Canaan ii. x. 98 These beasts are of the bignesse of a Cowe..their fleeces very usefull, being a kinde of wolle.
1725 E. Fenton in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey I. i. 557 Stretch'd on the downy fleece, no rest he knows.
1804 J. Grahame Sabbath 456 Where lambs of whitest fleece sport on the hills.
1877 P. L. Simmonds Animal Products 66 Its [the Alpaca's] fleece is superior to that of the sheep in length and softness.
Thesaurus »
Categories »
b. Heraldry. The figure of a sheepskin with its wool suspended by a ring.
c. With reference to the Order of the Golden Fleece: see golden fleece n. 2.
ΚΠ
1525 Two Proph. Eng. in F. J. Furnivall Ballads from MSS I. 306 A king to were a flemyshe flece, all Sacksons shall hyt Rewe.
1539 Inv. Habiliments, etc., Jas. V. Scot. (1815) 49 Item the ordoure of the Empriour with the goldin fleis.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward IV f. ccxiii The kyng ware the golden Flees, and the duke ware the Gartier.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) iv. vii. 69 Knight of the Noble Order of S. George, Worthy S. Michael, and the Golden Fleece.
1842 H. W. Longfellow Belfry of Bruges 22 Knights who bore the Fleece of Gold.
1849 B. Disraeli Corr. with Sister (1886) 220 He [Guizot] had his red ribbon on and also his golden fleece.
2. † b. figurative. A share of booty. Obsolete.In quot. 1702 fleece is apprehended as ‘act of fleecing’.
a. The quantity of wool shorn from a sheep at one time.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > sheep-farming > sheep-shearing > [noun] > quantity of wool shorn
fleecec1460
clipa1825
wool clip1862
c1460 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (1885) xii. 140 The ixth fflese off thair wolles, and also the ixth Shef off þer graynes.
a1687 W. Petty Polit. Anat. Ireland (1691) 54 A Fleece of Wool in Ireland is about 2 l. weight.
1786 R. Burns Poems 67 A bonier fleesh ne'er cross'd the clips.
1829 W. Scott Anne of Geierstein I. vi. 165 Thou shalt have a necklace of jet at next shearing-feast, if our fleeces bear any price in the market.
1868 J. E. T. Rogers Man. Polit. Econ. (1876) xii. 11 The average weight of a fleece was not more than two pounds.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > giving > distributing or dealing out > an allotted share, portion, or part > [noun] > of booty, spoils, or profits
fee14..
fleece1601
snappage1602
guile-shares1723
reg'lar1777
regular1811
share-out1864
corner1878
rake-off1887
split1889
tantième1897
cut1918
1601 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. (1609) vi. xv. 226 Thy selfe wouldest have a fliece with them [L. in parte prædæ sis].
1606 N. Breton Poste with Packet Madde Lett. (new ed.) II. sig. F When their wits goe a woolgathering among shrewes, that haue had fleeces.
1702 S. Centlivre Beau's Duel ii. ii. 16 There's scarce a Match-maker in the whole Town, but has had a Fleece at his Purse.
3. In various transferred uses.† a. A coating periodically shed or removed.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > covering > coating or covering with a layer > [noun] > a coat or covering layer > periodically shed or removed
fleece1603
1603 G. Owen Descr. Penbrokshire (1891) 74 The stonne Marle..beinge cast on the lande, casteth yerely a ffleece of sande.
b. A crop of vegetation; also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > crop or crops > [noun] > other crops
fleece1513
white crop1743
green crop1744
root crop1772
row crop1776
robber1777
mix-grass1778
breaking-crop1808
industrial crop1818
foliage crop1831
kharifa1836
scourge-crop1842
overcrop1858
by-crop1880
coppice-with-standards1882
sewage grass1888
trap-crop1899
cleaning crop1900
nurse crop1907
cover crop1909
smother crop1920
stoop crop1928
snatch crop1937
break crop1967
wholecrop1968
1513 G. Douglas in tr. Virgil Æneid xii. Prol. 80 So thik the plantis sprang in euery pece, The feyldis ferleis of thar fructuus flece.
1793 Trans. Soc. Arts (ed. 2) 5 86 The land..will produce little else but a fleece of weeds.
1793 Ann. Agric. 19 214 There was a very fine fleece of marl grass.
1831 W. Scott Jrnl. 5 May (1946) 166 A fleece of letters, which must be answered, I suppose.
1855 R. Browning Two in Campagna v The champaign with its endless fleece Of feathery grasses everywhere.
c. A ‘head’ or mass of hair.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > hair > hair of head > [noun]
lockeOE
faxc900
hairc1000
hairc1000
headOE
topc1275
toppingc1400
peruke1548
fleece1577
crine1581
head of hair1587
poll1603
a fell of haira1616
thatcha1634
maidenhair1648
chevelure1652
wool1697
toupet1834
nob-thatch1846
barnet1857
toss1946
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry iv. f. 175v Others [sc. Bees] carry water with theyr mouthes, and droppes in theyr little fleeses.
1600 S. Nicholson Acolastus his After-witte sig. E2v Witnesse this snow-white fleece vpon my head.
1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets lxviii. sig. E3 Ere beauties dead fleece made another gay. View more context for this quotation
1711 London Gaz. No. 4841/4 Stolen..a Mare..with a white Fleece down the Face.
1834 T. Carlyle Sartor Resartus i. v. 14/1 The Aboriginal Savage, glaring fiercely from under his fleece of hair.
1859 Ld. Tennyson Vivien in Idylls of King 137 The..many-winter'd fleece of throat and chin.
1865 A. C. Swinburne Faustine in Poems & Ballads 3 Back to the shoulder with its fleece Of locks.
d. Applied to anything resembling a sheep's fleece either in appearance or consistence; a white cloud, etc.; a quantity of falling snow, or of some light substance, as air, vapour, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > gas > [noun] > fumes or vapour > cloud or streamer of
swirlc1425
sop1513
fleece1671
plume1854
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > precipitation or atmospheric moisture > snow > [noun] > a covering of snow
fleece1671
1671 R. Bohun Disc. Wind 40 Superincumbent Air; which I suppose to ly in severall fleeces or storys one above another.
1686 J. Goad Astro-meteorologica i. ii. 4 Whensoever it snows..the greater is the Fleece, the warmer is the Air.
1692 R. Bentley Boyle Lect. i. 8 Certain thin fleeces of Atoms, that flow incessantly from the surfaces of bodies.
1715 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad I. iii. 284 Soft as the Fleeces of descending Snows.
1743 A. Pope Dunciad (rev. ed.) ii. 362 'Till show'rs of Sermons, Characters, Essays, In circling fleeces whiten all the ways.
1748 J. Hervey Refl. Flower-garden 95 in Medit. & Contempl. (ed. 2) I The Fleeces, the snowy Fleeces, of some cleaving Cloud.
1835 H. Miller Scenes & Legends N. Scotl. xii. 214 A deep fleece of vapour, that rose from the surface.
1853 E. K. Kane U.S. Grinnell Exped. (1856) xxix. 246 The mackerel fleeces and mare's tails of our summer skies.
1865 D. Masson Recent Brit. Philos. iii. 229 Beads or fleeces of oily substance hung in some gauze-work.
e. spec. The thin sheet of cotton or wool fibre that is taken from the breaking-card. Also, a textile fabric with a soft silky pile used for lining, etc.: cf. fleece-lined adj. at Compounds 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > treated or processed textiles > [noun] > layer or sheet
lap1825
fleece1853
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric manufactured in specific way > [noun] > with pile or nap > other
panne1794
velvet-pile1851
fleece1957
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric made from specific material > made from wool > [noun] > with nap
Welsh cotton1546
Welsh frieze1551
Welsh cloth1565
veloursa1884
zibeline cloth1892
face cloth1898
fleece1957
1853 A. Ure Dict. Arts (ed. 4) I. 510 One [card], called a breaker, which turns off the cotton in a broad fleece of extreme thinness.
1878 I. Watts in Encycl. Brit. VI. 493 The cotton is taken from the doffer in a very light fleece by means of a vibrating comb.
1957 M. B. Picken Fashion Dict. 133/1 Fleece, heavy erect-pile coat fabric of all wool or wool and hair of llama, alpaca, camel, vicuna or cashmere goat.
1964 McCall's Sewing in Colour iv. 57/1 Fleece, a heavy-weight woollen with very long nap used for coats. It is inclined to be bulky, and may be difficult to sew.
4. Used for a sheep, or collectively sheep.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > genus Ovus > [noun] > Ovus Aries (domestic sheep)
sheepc825
sowthc1175
balle1440
wool-bearer1483
flocklinga1652
ram-sheep1672
fleece1783
jumbuck1824
ovine1890
mae1899
woolly1910
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > genus Ovus > [noun] > Ovus Aries (domestic sheep) > collectively
fleece1783
1783 Wowing of Jock & Jenny viii, in Pinkerton Select Sc. Ball. II. 73 Fyve hundirth fleis now in a flok.
?1798 ‘P. Pindar’ Tales of Hoy 64 And all the tribe of fleeces follow.
1855 R. Browning Love among Ruins ix All our many-tinkling fleece.
5. U.S. The meat taken from the sides of the hump of the American bison.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > animals for food > beef > [noun] > meat from hump of bison
hump1805
fleece1841
1841 G. Catlin Lett. N. Amer. Indians II. liv. 181 The fleece (hump) of a fat cow, was the luxury of luxuries.
1891 Army & Navy Jrnl. (U.S.) 5 Sept. 30/1 The fleece [of a buffalo] is the meat lying on each side of the hump ribs and resting on the outside of the side ribs.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
fleece-encumbered adj.
ΚΠ
1814 W. Wordsworth Excursion vii. 338 The fleece-incumbered flock. View more context for this quotation
fleece-like adj.
ΚΠ
1720 W. Congreve Impossible Thing 8 That Fleece-like Flow'r of fairy Land.
1820 P. B. Shelley Cloud in Prometheus Unbound 198 The moon, Glides glimmering o'er my fleece-like floor.
fleece-lined adj.
ΚΠ
1894 Daily News 26 Mar. 5/7 With the exception of fleece-lined underwear.
C2. † fleece-feeder n. Obsolete one who makes his profit out of fleeces (in quot. figurative).
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > trader > merchant > [noun]
merchantc1225
grocer1427
merchantman1449
marketor1474
fleece-feeder1549
mercadore1595
marcantanta1616
man of business1640
correspondent1698
businessman1803
mercantile1813
net importer1925
commercial1962
1549 H. Latimer 2nd Serm. before Kynges Maiestie (new ed.) 5th Serm. sig. Pii (margin) There are to many suche flese feders.
fleece-merchant n. a dealer in wool.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > trader > traders or dealers in specific articles > [noun] > in textiles, clothing, or yarns
mercerc1230
clothier1362
draper1362
woolman1390
yarn-chopper1429
line-draper1436
Welsh drapera1525
telerc1540
purple-seller1547
linen-draper1549
staplera1552
silkman1553
woollen-draper1554
wool-driver1555
woolster1577
linener1616
woolner1619
linen-man1631
ragman1649
rag merchant1665
slop-seller1665
bodice-seller1672
piece-broker1697
wool-stapler1709
cloth-man1723
Manchester-man1755
fleece-merchanta1774
rag dealer1777
man's mercer1789
keelman1821
man-mercer1837
cotton-broker1849
slopper1854
shoddyite1865
costumier1886
cotton-man1906
a1774 R. Fergusson Poems (1785) 171 Fleece merchants may look bald.
fleece-picker n. New Zealand one who picks up fleeces in a shearing-shed.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > sheep-farming > sheep-shearing > [noun] > sheep-shearer > fleece-picker
picker-up1611
fleece-picker1861
fleece-o1894
piece picker1899
1861 H. W. Harper Lett. from N.Z. (1914) 20 July 54 Shearing, it happens, is in full swing, so there are a number of extra men, besides the shepherds of the station, shearers, fleece-pickers, wool sorters, and ‘rouse-abouts’.
1892 W. E. Swanton Notes on N.Z. ii. 96 There are the boys to pick up the fleeces, one fleece picker to every four or five shearers.
1945 S. J. Baker Austral. Lang. iii. 63 Woolshed workers include the fleece-picker or fleecy.
1954 E. C. Studholme Te Waimate (ed. 2) xv. 130 Fleece-pickers received 15s. a week, wool-rollers 25s. to 30s. [in 1882].
fleece-roller n. Australian
ΚΠ
1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Colonial Reformer I. xii. 198 Sheepwashers, shearers,..fleece-rollers.
fleece-wool n. that obtained from the living animal at the annual shearings.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > wool > [noun] > type of > from sheep > from recently shorn sheep
shorling1429
fleece-wool1495
1495 in W. H. Stevenson Rec. Borough Nottingham (1885) III. 42 Centum stones de flesse wolle.
1552 Act 5 & 6 Edw. VI c. 6. §1 Mingling Fell-wool and Lambs-wool..with Fleece-wool.
1738 Defoe's Tour Great Brit. (ed. 2) I. 97 Fleece Wooll, out of Lincolnshire.
1891 R. Wallace Rural Econ. Austral. & N.Z. xxix. 385 The years 1880, 1881, and 1882 were good years, when unsorted wool ranged between about 11d. and 1s. o½d. per lb., and fleece wool rose to close upon 1s. 6d. per lb.
1921 Daily Colonist (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 8 Oct. 15/2 The cost of putting an extremely good value in fleece wools has made it difficult for the puller to operate.
1951 L. G. D. Acland Early Canterbury Runs 378 Fleece..The main part of a sheep's wool, which is picked up in one, skirted, and rolled. This is sold as fleece wool, as opposed to locks, bellies, and pieces.
Draft additions June 2003
A jacket or pullover made from or lined with fleece, esp. synthetic fleece.
ΚΠ
1992 Los Angeles Times (Electronic ed.) 14 May Now that the sun has come out you can get a deal on sweat shirts and fleeces in the America's Cup International Village.
1993 Ski Surv. Feb. 21/3 You don't see smart $1,000 skisuits here. The punks wear faded old fleeces and ski the bumps on teles or snowboards.
1997 Daily Tel. 28 Nov. 23/3 The shop has been selling an average of 100 fleeces a week since the beginning of the season.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1896; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
fleecev.
/fliːs/, U.S. /flis/ 1.
a. transitive. To strip (a sheep) of the fleece; to clip off or strip the wool from; literal and figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > sheep-farming > sheep-shearing > shear sheep [verb (transitive)]
shear900
clipc1175
lip1607
fleece1885
1628 G. Wither Britain's Remembrancer viii. 1442 A Clergy, that shall more desire to fleece, Then feed the flock.
1652 Season. Exp. Netherl. 15 What signified the bleating of such of your Countreymen as they daily fleec'd?
1708 J. Ozell tr. N. Boileau-Despréaux Lutrin v. 87 For Thee his Flocks are fleec'd.
1885 Pall Mall Gaz. 6 Nov. 1/1 The impulsive eagerness of some owners to fleece their sheep rather more often than is good for them.
b. transferred.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > covering > uncovering > uncover or remove covering from [verb (transitive)] > uncover and expose
unwryc825
bareOE
unhelec1000
uncoverc1390
disclosea1393
to lay outa1400
unhidea1400
declose14..
unbare1530
discover1563
imbear1657
fleece1667
unfence1715
to lay bare1807
to open out1832
strip1839
expose1851
1667 E. Waterhouse Short Narr. Fire London 171 Thrifty Oaks, though fleeced of under boughs, yet if not headed, may thrive.
2. To pluck or shear (the wool) from a sheep. Hence figurative to obtain by unjust or unfair means. Also, to take toll of, take pickings from. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > defrauding or swindling > perpetrate (a swindle) [verb (transitive)] > take by swindling
wipec1000
fleece1537
fraud1570
shark1613
boba1616
foola1616
rook1647
sharp1707
escroc1738
swindle1779
skelder1822
1537 King Henry VIII in State Papers Henry VIII (1834) II. 423 To flece, from tyme to tyme, all that you may catche from Us.
1575 G. Gascoigne Noble Arte Venerie lxxiv. 198 Men which fliese a fee, From euerie widowes flocke: a capon or a chicke.
1593 T. Nashe Strange Newes in Wks. (Grosart) II. 242 Many lockes fleec'd from Tullie.
1605 R. Verstegan Restit. Decayed Intelligence v. 115 By fleesing from each of these two countries a parte.
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage v. xiv. 519 Their wealth and substance being euery where so fleeced that [etc.]
1841 T. Carlyle On Heroes iv. 234 To divide what they fleeced from these poor drudges.
3. To strip (a person, city, country, etc.) of money, property, etc., as a sheep is stripped of its fleece; to make (any one) pay to the uttermost; to exact money from, or make exacting charges upon; to plunder, rob heartlessly; to victimize. Also with of.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > loss > taking away > take away [verb (transitive)] > fleece
milk?1531
shred1548
suck1558
shear1570
fleece1575
shave1606
unfleece1609
jib1728
skin1819
sweat1847
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > robbery > spoliation or depredation > commit depredation [verb (intransitive)]
reaveOE
preyc1325
pillc1390
spoilc1400
spreathc1425
rive1489
poinda1500
to rug and reavea1500
to pill and poll1528
pilfer1548
fleece1575
plunder1642
spulyie1835
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > robbery > spoliation or depredation > despoil or prey upon [verb (transitive)]
reaveOE
stripa1225
pill?c1225
robc1225
peela1250
despoil1297
raimc1300
spoilc1330
spoila1340
to pull a finch (also pigeon, plover, etc.)c1387
despoil1393
preya1400
spoila1400
spulyiea1400
unspoila1400
riflec1400
poll1490
to pill and poll1528
to poll and pill1528
exspoila1530
pilyie1539
devour?1542
plume1571
rive1572
bepill1574
fleece1575
to prey over1576
pread1577
disvaledge1598
despoliate1607
to make spoil of1613
expilate1624
to peel and poll1641
depredate1651
violatea1657
disvalise1672
to pick feathers off (a person)1677
to make stroy of1682
spoliate1699
pilfer1714
snabble1725
rump1815
vampire1832
sweat1847
ploat1855
vampirize1888
society > trade and finance > charges > [verb (transitive)] > overcharge
overchargea1400
surcharge1429
overset?1533
sauce1602
hoist1607
over-reckon1615
extortionc1650
sock1699
fleece1719
soak1895
slug1925
rob1934
1577 R. Holinshed Chron. II. 1508/2 The Cardinall knowing that he was well prouided of money, sought occasion to fleece him of part thereof.
1601 F. Godwin Catal. Bishops of Eng. 359 Alfred..determined at his departure [from York] to fleece it.
c1616 R. C. Times' Whistle (1871) vi. 2718 Many a gallant of his golde they fleece.
1691 A. Wood Athenæ Oxonienses I. 584 His father..fleec'd the Church of Hereford to leave him an estate.
1719 in T. D'Urfey Wit & Mirth V. 99 When..Lawyers forget a rich Client to Fleece.
1773 O. Goldsmith She stoops to Conquer ii. 20 In bad inns, you are fleeced and starved.
1817 J. Mill Hist. Brit. India II. v. iv. 444 In this manner had Tanjore been humbled and fleeced.
1853 N. Hawthorne Jrnl. 19 Oct. in Eng. Notebks. (1997) I. i. 52 A begging subscriptionist..has just fleeced me to that amount.
1866 R. M. Ballantyne Shifting Winds xxvii. 310 A place..where [seamen]..were soon fleeced of all their hardly-earned money.
4.
a. To overspread as with a fleece.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > covering > cover [verb (transitive)] > with or as with specific other things
clodc1420
pavea1425
foamc1540
overstain1559
thatch1589
sinew1592
to ice over1602
curd1654
overfleece1717
fleece1730
stucco1774
oversmoke1855
bepaper1861
beboulder1862
overflower1876
sack1880
overglass1883
to board over1885
pad1885
lather1917
cobweb1928
1730 J. Thomson Autumn in Seasons 170 Mean-time, light-shadowing all, a sober calm Fleeces unbounded æther.
1855 H. W. Beecher Star Papers (1873) xxxii. 349 The trees are dressed with snow..The bucket, the well-curb are fleeced over.
b. To dapple or fleck with fleece-like masses.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > variegation > patch of colour > mark with patches [verb (transitive)]
patch1594
splotch1654
fleece1748
1748 J. Thomson Castle of Indolence i. 394 Not Titian's pencil e'er could so array, So fleece with clouds, the pure etherial space.
1799 W. Wordsworth Nutting One of those green stones That fleeced with moss, under the shady trees, Lay round me.
1888 Shairp in Knight Shairp & Friends 87 The sky was bright blue, fleeced with the whitest clouds.
Derivatives
fleeced adj.1
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > loss > [adjective] > suffering loss > deprived > fleeced
fleeceda1800
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > sheep-farming > sheep-shearing > [adjective] > sheared
fleeceda1800
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > robbery > spoliation or depredation > [adjective] > despoiled
spoiledc1440
ravisheda1500
pilled?1518
polled1538
rifled1563
despoiled1576
pillaged1629
plundered1639
fleeceda1800
spoliated1815
spulyied1838
a1800 W. Cowper tr. Andreini Adam in Wks. (1835–7) X. 327 The lifeless skins Of fleeced animals.
1864 H. Spencer Illustr. Progress 99 The ill-educated children, the fleeced relatives, who have to suffer from it.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1896; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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