silvery

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See also: silver Y

English

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Etymology

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From Middle English silvery, sylvyry; equivalent to silver +‎ -y.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈsɪlvəɹi/, /ˈsɪlvɹi/

Adjective

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silvery (comparative silverier, superlative silveriest)

  1. Resembling silver in color, shiny white.
    • 1728, [Alexander Pope], “(please specify the page)”, in The Dunciad. An Heroic Poem. [], Dublin, London: [] A. Dodd, →OCLC:
      OF all th' enamell'd race, whose silvery wing / Waves to the tepid zephyrs of the spring.
    • 1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 98:
      Nothing was to be seen save flat meadows, cows feeding unconcernedly for the most part, and silvery pollard willows motionless in the warm sunlight.
    • 2014 April 21, “Subtle effects”, in The Economist, volume 411, number 8884:
      Manganism has been known about since the 19th century, when miners exposed to ores containing manganese, a silvery metal, began to totter, slur their speech and behave like someone inebriated.
  2. Sprinkled or covered with silver.
  3. Having the clear, musical tone of silver; soft and clear in sound.
    a silvery laugh

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Anagrams

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