Velvet has historically been a rich, expensive fabric, made on special looms most often from silk. It is plain on the back, thick and soft on the front, and its texture has led to the word's use as an adjective to describe something soft and smooth, like a dog's velvet ear. Even a rich, smooth singing voice can be described as velvet. The Latin root, villus, simply means "shaggy cloth" or "tuft of hair."