chenille

UK: /ʃəˈniːl/ US: /ʃəˈnil/ ,(shə nēl′)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

che•nille /ʃəˈnil/   n. [uncountable]

1. Textiles a fabric made with yarn that is thick and velvety, used esp. in bedspreads.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

che•nille  (shə nēl′), n. 

1. Textiles a velvety cord or yarn of silk or worsted, for embroidery, fringes, etc.
2. Textiles fabric made with a fringed silken thread used as the weft in combination with wool or cotton.
3. Textiles any fabric with a protruding pile, as in certain rayon bedspreads.
4. Textiles a deep-pile, durable, woolen carpeting with chenille weft: the most expensive power-loomed floor covering.

• Latin canīcula, with etymological sense "little dog,'' though attested only in senses "shrewish woman, dogfish, Sirius'' (see canicular); for parallel use of "cat'' in same sense, see caterpillar
• French: velvety cord, literally, caterpillar
• 1730–40

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

chenille / ʃəˈniːl/ noun

1. a thick soft tufty silk or worsted velvet cord or yarn used in embroidery and for trimmings, etc
2. a fabric of such yarn
3. a rich and hard-wearing carpet of such fabric

Etymology: 18th Century: from French, literally: hairy caterpillar, from Latin canicula, diminutive of canis dog