English 'silk' descends from Old English 'seolc,' from Proto-Germanic *silką, probably borrowed through Slavic or Baltic intermediaries from Chinese 'sī' (丝, silk) — a word that traveled the ancient trade routes from China to northern Europe long before the Romans named the route 'the Silk Road.'
A fine, strong, soft fibre produced by silkworms, or the lustrous fabric woven from it.
From Old English 'seolc,' 'sioloc,' from Proto-Germanic *silką. The ultimate source is disputed. The most common hypothesis traces it through a chain of intermediaries to Chinese 'sī' (丝, silk), possibly via Mongolian 'sirkek' or a Manchurian-Tungusic form. Greek 'sḗr' (Σήρ, a Chinese person, plural 'Sḗres') and Latin
The Germanic word for silk and the Latinate word for silk come from the same Chinese source by completely different routes. English 'silk' arrived through overland trade via Baltic or Slavic intermediaries into Proto-Germanic. Latin 'sēricum' (whence 'sericulture') arrived through Greek 'Sḗres' (the Chinese), which came via the maritime and