Soft \Soft\ (s[o^]ft; 115), a. [Compar. Softer
(s[o^]ft"[~e]r); superl. Softest.] [OE. softe, AS.
s[=o]fte, properly adv. of s[=e]fte, adj.; akin to OS.
s[=a]fto, adv., D. zacht, OHG. samfto, adv., semfti, adj., G.
sanft, LG. sacht; of uncertain origin.]
1. Easily yielding to pressure; easily impressed, molded, or
cut; not firm in resisting; impressible; yielding; also,
malleable; -- opposed to hard; as, a soft bed; a soft
peach; soft earth; soft wood or metal.
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2. Not rough, rugged, or harsh to the touch; smooth;
delicate; fine; as, soft silk; a soft skin.
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They that wear soft clothing are in king's houses.
--Matt. xi. 8.
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3. Hence, agreeable to feel, taste, or inhale; not irritating
to the tissues; as, a soft liniment; soft wines. "The
soft, delicious air." --Milton.
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4. Not harsh or offensive to the sight; not glaring; pleasing
to the eye; not exciting by intensity of color or violent
contrast; as, soft hues or tints.
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The sun, shining upon the upper part of the clouds .
. . made the softest lights imaginable. --Sir T.
Browne.
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5. Not harsh or rough in sound; gentle and pleasing to the
ear; flowing; as, soft whispers of music.
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Her voice was ever soft,
Gentle, and low, -- an excellent thing in woman.
--Shak.
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Soft were my numbers; who could take offense?
--Pope.
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6. Easily yielding; susceptible to influence; flexible;
gentle; kind.
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I would to God my heart were flint, like Edward's;
Or Edward's soft and pitiful, like mine. --Shak.
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The meek or soft shall inherit the earth. --Tyndale.
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7. Expressing gentleness, tenderness, or the like; mild;
conciliatory; courteous; kind; as, soft eyes.
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A soft answer turneth away wrath. --Prov. xv. 1.
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A face with gladness overspread,
Soft smiles, by human kindness bred. --Wordsworth.
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8. Effeminate; not courageous or manly, weak.
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A longing after sensual pleasures is a dissolution
of the spirit of a man, and makes it loose, soft,
and wandering. --Jer. Taylor.
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9. Gentle in action or motion; easy.
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On her soft axle, white she paces even,
And bears thee soft with the smooth air along.
--Milton.
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10. Weak in character; impressible.
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The deceiver soon found this soft place of Adam's.
--Glanvill.
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11. Somewhat weak in intellect. [Colloq.]
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He made soft fellows stark noddies, and such as
were foolish quite mad. --Burton.
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12. Quiet; undisturbed; paceful; as, soft slumbers.
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13. Having, or consisting of, a gentle curve or curves; not
angular or abrupt; as, soft outlines.
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14. Not tinged with mineral salts; adapted to decompose soap;
as, soft water is the best for washing.
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15. (Phonetics)
(a) Applied to a palatal, a sibilant, or a dental
consonant (as g in gem, c in cent, etc.) as
distinguished from a guttural mute (as g in go, c in
cone, etc.); -- opposed to hard.
(b) Belonging to the class of sonant elements as
distinguished from the surd, and considered as
involving less force in utterance; as, b, d, g, z, v,
etc., in contrast with p, t, k, s, f, etc.
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Soft clam (Zool.), the common or long clam (Mya
arenaria). See Mya.
Soft coal, bituminous coal, as distinguished from
anthracite, or hard, coal.
Soft crab (Zool.), any crab which has recently shed its
shell.
Soft dorsal (Zool.), the posterior part of the dorsal fin
of fishes when supported by soft rays.
Soft grass. (Bot.) See Velvet grass.
Soft money, paper money, as distinguished from coin, or
hard money. [Colloq. U.S.]
Soft mute. (Phonetics) See Media.
Soft palate. See the Note under Palate.
Soft ray (Zool.), a fin ray which is articulated and
usually branched.
Soft soap. See under Soap.
Soft-tack, leavened bread, as distinguished from
hard-tack, or ship bread.
Soft tortoise (Zool.), any river tortoise of the genus
Trionyx. See Trionyx.
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Velvet \Vel"vet\, n. [OE. velouette, veluet, velwet; cf. OF.
velluau, LL. velluetum, vellutum, It. velluto, Sp. velludo;
all fr. (assumed) LL. villutus shaggy, fr L. villus shaggy
hair; akin to vellus a fleece, and E. wool. See Wool, and
cf. Villous.]
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1. A silk fabric, having a short, close nap of erect threads.
Inferior qualities are made with a silk pile on a cotton
or linen back, or with other soft fibers such as nylon,
acetate, or rayon.
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2. The soft and highly vascular deciduous skin which envelops
and nourishes the antlers of deer during their rapid
growth.
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3. Something likened to velvet[1] in being soft or luxurious;
as, a lawn of velvet.
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Cotton velvet, an imitation of velvet, made of cotton.
Velvet cork, the best kind of cork bark, supple, elastic,
and not woody or porous.
Velvet crab (Zool.), a European crab (Portunus puber).
When adult the black carapace is covered with a velvety
pile. Called also lady crab, and velvet fiddler.
Velvet dock (Bot.), the common mullein.
Velvet duck. (Zool.)
(a) A large European sea duck, or scoter (Oidemia
fusca). The adult male is glossy, velvety black, with
a white speculum on each wing, and a white patch
behind each eye.
(b) The American whitewinged scoter. See Scoter.
Velvet flower (Bot.), love-lies-bleeding. See under Love.
Velvet grass (Bot.), a tall grass (Holcus lanatus) with
velvety stem and leaves; -- called also soft grass.
Velvet runner (Zool.), the water rail; -- so called from
its quiet, stealthy manner of running. [Prov. Eng.]
Velvet scoter. (Zool.) Same as Velvet duck, above.
Velvet sponge. (Zool.) See under Sponge.
in velvet having a coating of velvet[2] over the antlers;
in the annual stage where the antlers are still growing;
-- of deer.
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