baize

A thick, soft, usually woolen cloth resembling felt; often colored green and used for coverings on card tables, billiard and snooker tables, etc.

Noun

  1. A thick, soft, usually woolen cloth resembling felt; often colored green and used for coverings on card tables, billiard and snooker tables, etc.
  2. A coarse woolen material with a long nap; usually dyed in plain colors.
    • my goods being all English manufacture, such as cloths, stuffs, baize, and things particularly valuable and desirable in the country, I found means to sell them to a very great advantage... - 1719, Daniel Defoe,...
    • At the further end, a flight of stairs mounted to a door covered with a red baize; and through this, Mr. Utterson was at last received into the doctor's cabinet. - 1885, Robert Louis Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr....

Origin

From French baies, feminine plural of adjective bai (“bay-colored”) mistaken as a singular noun.

Forms

baizes

Derived

baize door green baize knight of the green baize

Verb

  1. To cover or line with baize.

Forms

baizes baizing baized