🪶 A soft feather 🛏️ A soft material

swansdown

8.2

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

noun

Archaic

: down de cisne

He wants to hurry to a lavatory, a zinc-lined room with a bar of untouched oval soap, a torrent of hot water, and a swansdown towel that has never been used by anyone else.

Examples

After the shower, he wrapped himself in a warm swansdown towel to dry off.
The tailor used swansdown to create a delicate lining for the elegant coat he was sewing.
The bed was covered with a luxurious swansdown duvet that felt incredibly soft against the skin.

Synonyms

down

vsswansdown

34 4.8

Soft, fine feathers on young birds and under adult feathers

is the same filling but specifically from a single bird species

goose down

vsswansdown

3 3.8

Soft fine feathers from under a goose used as warm filling

is the same soft filling but not described mainly for insulation

down feather

vsswansdown

1 3.2

A very soft feather under a bird's outer feathers that keeps the bird warm

is the material made from many such feathers for clothing or bedding

swan's down

vsswansdown

8.2

Soft fine feathers under a swan's outer feathers used to fill clothes or bedding

is the same material but written as one combined word

duck down

vsswansdown

2.8

Soft fine feathers from a duck used to fill warm bedding and clothing

is from a single specific bird species rather than that common one

How Soft

swansdown

Archaic

8.2

down

34 4.8

silk

237 1.0

cotton

115 1.0

linen

111 1.0

Surface Forms

swansdown singular

swansdowns plural

Morphology

swansdown = swan + down (transparent) = swan + down

The sense denotes the material made from swan feathers, directly derived from the compound components.

Etymology

The word swansdown comes from swan + down ('soft, fluffy feathers') and was used for cloth or fillings made from swan feathers for warm clothes and bedding. That's why calling a fabric or pillow swansdown means it is very soft and warm like swan feathers.