satin de chine

Mid 19th century; from French satin de Chine (although this is apparently first attested later: 1859 or earlier), literally “satin of China”.^[1]

satin de chine (countable and uncountable, plural satins de chine or satin de chines)

1. A napless worsted satin.
   • 1881, Fourth Annual Report of the Bureau of Statistics of Labor and Industries of New Jersey, for the Year Ending October 31st, 1881, Somerville, N.J.: Edward B. Porter, page 152:

     Marcelines, florentines, serges, satin de chine, and the various fabrics used for lining are produced in great quantities here.

   • 1886, Reports on the Statistics of Wages in Manufacturing Industries; with Supplementary Reports on the Average Retail Price of Necessaries of Life, and on Trades Societies, and Strikes and Lockouts, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, page 369:

     This classification includes the manufacture of a large variety of silk goods, among which are machine twist, tram, organzine, fringe, broad silks, gros-grains, serges, surahs, satins de chine, and silk handkerchiefs.

   • 1924, Supreme Court Papers on Appeal from Order:

     Q. Do you know what other concerns made these satin de chines? A. I did not bother with that. Q. Did you know what concerns were selling satin de chines?