samite
/ˈsamʌɪt
/ /ˈseɪmʌɪt/noun [mass noun] historical
A rich silk fabric interwoven with gold and silver threads, used for dressmaking and decoration in the Middle Ages: [as modifier]: samite hangings...
- They display brocades, compound weaves, lampas, plain weaves, samite, tapestry and twill to provide a snapshot of the expansive weaving styles of Central Asia.
- The booty gained was so great that none could tell you the end of it: gold and silver, and vessels and precious stones, and samite, and cloth of silk, and robes vair and grey, and ermine, and every choicest thing found upon the earth.
- The Lady of the Lake - her arm clad in the purest shimmering samite, held aloft Excalibur from the bosom of the water, signifying by divine providence that I, Arthur, was to carry Excalibur.
Origin
Middle English: from Old French samit, via medieval Latin from medieval Greek hexamiton, from Greek hexa- 'six' + mitos 'thread'.