Emily Dickinson Lexicon
Definition for Plush (-es)
plush (-es), n. [ME < Fr. pluche, velvet, silk fabric < peluchier, pick, untangle hair.] (webplay: single, velvet).
- Fuzz; down; silky texture; soft fabric; cloth with a velvety nap; [fig.] softness; luxuriousness.
- Luxury; opulence; sumptuousness; [fig.] gentility; refinement; eloquence; elegant expression; beautiful sentiment.
- Caterpillar; delicate creature; endangered species; exquisite object; rare thing.
- Silk; finest quality fabric; [fig.] funeral shroud; casket lining.
- Cushion; padding; [onomatopoetic] swish; soft sound that paws make.
- Soft ground cover; dead grass, new snow, or fallen leaves.
- Pollen; soft flower petals; rows of blossoms in a garden.
- [As subject or object] soft body; fuzzy exterior; [as object] pollen; delicate flower petals; luxurious field of blossoms; [fig.] pelt; skin; ectoderm of a bee; exterior surface of a caterpillar; [metonym] caterpillar (see J173/Fr171). [The syntactic and lexical ambiguities of this occurrence of “Plush” are challenging to define.]
- Muffler; insulation; material that dampens sound; [fig.] silence; quiet; hush; soundlessness.
- Comfort; balm; soothing ability; smoothing power; way of easing pain; skill at diminishing grief.
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