soupleadj.n.
/ˈsuːpl/, U.S. /ˈsupəl/ A. adj.
Esp. in souple silk. Designating silk from which only a portion of the gummy sericin component has been removed and which is less soft and lustrous than silk which is free of sericin. Cf. soft silk at soft adj. 11b.In souple silk, gum removal accounts for a weight loss of typically 5–15%.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > silk > [adjective] > retaining natural gum
hard1638
souple silk1828
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric made from specific material > made from silk > [noun] > types of > made from specific forms of silk fibre or thread
fillatrice-stuff1714
souple1828
supple silk1835
raw silk1866
schappe1885
souple silk1885
1828 R. Badnall View Silk Trade 42 The Silk Manufacturers at Lyons pay generally to their dyers a stipulated average price, which in the spring of the present year was about 1s. 3d. per lb., for all colours (excepting ‘ingrains’) whether soft or souple.
1885 J. J. Hummel Dyeing Textile Fabrics viii. 117 Souple silk is not so strong as boiled-off silk.
1927 R. S. Horsfall & L. G. Lawrie Dyeing Textile Fibres x. 283 In the case of degumming for souple silk, the object is to remove only a portion of the gum.
1964 S. R. Crockett Dyeing & Printing ii. 23 Varying grades of degumming are exemplified by ecru silk..souple silk..and boiled-off silk.
2004 K. Lacasse & W. Baumann Textile Chem. iv. 127 The following three types of silk can be differentiated, depending on the extent of degumming: cuite silk..; souple silk: semi-degummed silk with a weight loss of 6-12%; ecru silk.
B. n.
Silk of this kind; a fabric made of such silk. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric made from specific material > made from silk > [noun] > types of > made from specific forms of silk fibre or thread
fillatrice-stuff1714
souple1828
supple silk1835
raw silk1866
schappe1885
souple silk1885
1828 R. Badnall View Silk Trade 44 The French Souples are nominally dyed lower than the English.
1887 Encycl. Brit. XXII. 62/2 For..making of gauzes, crapes, flour-bolting cloth, and for what is termed ‘souples’—the silk is not scoured.
1905 U.S. Patent 780,924 1/1 Souple is raw silk from which only a portion of the gum has been removed or has been lost in treatment.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
souplev.
/ˈsuːpl/, U.S. /ˈsupəl/ Now rare.
transitive. To remove a portion of the gummy sericin component from (raw silk) by heating in acid. Also occasionally intransitive: to lose sericin by such a process. Cf. souple adj.This process gives a product that is softer and more lustrous than raw silk, but not as soft as silk from which all the gum has been removed.
ΚΠ
1863 Morning Star 1 Jan. 6 A Basle manufacturer, who uses fine silk, which is weighted or ‘supled’, as the trade term goes.
1885 J. J. Hummel Dyeing Textile Fabrics xiii. 335 In the first chestnut extract bath, tram is soupled by raising the temperature of the bath sufficiently to soften the silk-glue.
1885 J. J. Hummel Dyeing Textile Fabrics xiii. 335 Bengal silk souples easily; Chinese silk less readily than European silk.
1914 C. A. Keane et al. tr. G. Lunge et al. Techn. Methods Chem. Anal. III. i. 295 It [sc. cream of tartar] is employed in dyeing as a mordant, for soupling silk, in food materials such as baking-powders, and in medicine.
1938 Thorpe's Dict. Appl. Chem. (ed. 4) II. 18/2 The bleached silk is soupled by boiling, for example, with a solution containing cream of tartar, sulphuric acid, and sulphurous acid.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.1828
v.1863