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Glite Dictionary
🧸 A soft fabric 🪶 Soft bird feathers
swan's down

swan's down

9.8
A very soft wool fabric used for baby clothes
  • noun
  • /swɑnz daʊn/
translation icon : pana de cisne
  • The dress was trimmed with swan's down to give it a delicate finish.

Examples

  • I love the softness of swan's down fabric.

  • She bought a swan's down jacket for her newborn because it was gentle and warm.

  • This blanket is made of swan's down and feels incredibly soft against the baby's skin.

  • The baby wore a blanket made of swan's down.

  • He chose a baby blanket made of swan's down for its luxurious softness and warmth.

  • For her daughter's dress, she selected a lining of swan's down to ensure it was gentle against her skin.

  • This cozy swan's down material is perfect for making delicate garments for infants.

Synonyms

fleece
vsswan's down
22 3.2

A soft warm fabric used for jackets and blankets

is a very fine wool fabric made for delicate baby garments not heavy outerwear
woolen
vsswan's down
  • US
9 2.3

A cloth or piece of clothing made from wool to keep warm

is a very soft specialized wool fabric for baby and delicate garments
doeskin
vsswan's down
1 9.6

A fine, soft wool fabric used for clothes or furniture

is much softer and reserved mainly for baby or delicate garments
swansdown
vsswan's down
  • Archaic
8.2

A soft filling that people make from swan feathers and use in clothing and bedding

is a wool fabric valued for softness not made from down feathers

Surface Forms

swan's down singular
swan's downs plural

Morphology

swan's + down

The phrase is a straightforward possessive composition: 'swan's' indicates belonging and 'down' denotes fine insulating feathers, so the meaning 'the down of a swan' is directly derivable from the parts. This compositional pattern is common across languages and follows standard noun + noun/possessive semantics, so a B1 learner who knows 'swan' and 'down' will readily understand it.

Etymology

Swan's down gets its name from the very soft feathers under a swan's outer feathers. These feathers were used to make a soft cloth for baby clothes and fine garments, so the term now means 'a very soft fabric'.