Question

damask noun The English noun "damask" entered Middle English (as "damaske") from Medieval Latin "damascus," taken from the name of the city of Damascus, one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. In contemporary English "damask" is applied to a lustrous fabric with a satin weave design, as well as to a type of steel (also called "Damascus steel") ornamented with a variegated surface and to a grayish red color associated with the damask rose. While the fabric, the steel, and the damask rose probably did not originate in Damascus, their long association with the ancient city has nevertheless impressed itself upon the English language. 1 : a firm lustrous fabric (as of linen, cotton, silk, or rayon) made with flat patterns in a satin weave on a plain-woven ground on jacquard looms2 : hard elastic steel ornamented with wavy patterns and used especially for sword blades; also : the characteristic markings of this steel3 : a grayish red

Accepted Answer

May 24, 2012 DAM-usk The old chair was upholstered in a blue silk damask which was now faded and threadbare.  "The interior of the newly restored Bolshoi Theater was resplendent with sable and decolletage and claret-colored damask on Friday…." - From an article by Ellen Barry and Sophia Kishkovsky in The New York Times, October 29, 2011

Word	damask
Date	May 24, 2012
Type	noun
Syllables	DAM-usk
Etymology	The English noun "damask" entered Middle English (as "damaske") from Medieval Latin "damascus," taken from the name of the city of Damascus, one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. In contemporary English "damask" is applied to a lustrous fabric with a satin weave design, as well as to a type of steel (also called "Damascus steel") ornamented with a variegated surface and to a grayish red color associated with the damask rose. While the fabric, the steel, and the damask rose probably did not originate in Damascus, their long association with the ancient city has nevertheless impressed itself upon the English language.
Examples	The old chair was upholstered in a blue silk damask which was now faded and threadbare. "The interior of the newly restored Bolshoi Theater was resplendent with sable and decolletage and claret-colored damask on Friday…." - From an article by Ellen Barry and Sophia Kishkovsky in The New York Times, October 29, 2011
Definition	1 : a firm lustrous fabric (as of linen, cotton, silk, or rayon) made with flat patterns in a satin weave on a plain-woven ground on jacquard looms 2 : hard elastic steel ornamented with wavy patterns and used especially for sword blades; also : the characteristic markings of this steel 3 : a grayish red

Damask English Steel Noun City Damascus Lustrous Fabric