What does chiffon mean?
Chiffon is a gossamer-light, semi-transparent fabric woven from silk, nylon, or rayon, prized for its soft drape and airy elegance. Because it is so fine, it is a staple of evening gowns, bridal veils, scarves, and other garments where movement and translucence are desired, and the word often works adjectivally — a 'chiffon dress' or 'chiffon shawl' immediately suggests something delicate and romantic. Beyond clothing, 'chiffon' describes foods with an exceptionally light texture, notably chiffon cakes and lemon chiffon pie, whose airiness echoes the fabric's weightlessness. The word comes from the French chiffon, meaning 'rag' or 'scrap', a humble origin that makes its association with luxury all the more striking. Connoting refinement and fragility, chiffon is a useful word both literally, for discussing textiles and fashion, and figuratively, for evoking anything insubstantial, graceful, or dreamlike. British speakers stress the first syllable; Americans typically stress the last.
A very light, sheer fabric made of silk, nylon, or rayon, having a soft drape and slight crepe texture.
"The costume designer layered pale blue chiffon over satin to soften the silhouette."
Typically uncountable when referring to the material; countable only for items made of it.
Made of or resembling chiffon; also used of foods having an exceptionally light, airy texture.
"He ordered a slice of orange chiffon cake at the café."
Rarely pluralized; the fabric is normally treated as an uncountable noun. A plural may appear informally to mean multiple garments or pieces made of chiffon.
"The boutique stocked chiffons in every pastel shade."
Before it named a fabric you could see through, 'chiffon' literally meant 'rag' in French — fashion's most ethereal cloth began life as a word for the humblest of scraps.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of chiffon
Chiffon was borrowed into English from French in the mid-eighteenth century. In French, chiffon originally meant a rag or small piece of cloth, a diminutive sense related to chiffe ('rag'). The word belongs to the same family as chiffre ('digit, cipher'), which entered French via Arabic ṣifr ('zero, empty') — making chiffon a distant relative of English 'cipher'. Over time, the English word narrowed to denote the fine sheer fabric we know today.
How chiffon is actually used
Chiffon is almost always an uncountable mass noun when referring to the fabric itself ('a length of chiffon', not 'a chiffon'), though it can be countable when referring to garments made from it. It carries connotations of elegance, delicacy, and femininity. In American English, stress falls on the final syllable (/ʃɪˈfɑːn/), while British English typically stresses the first (/ˈʃɪfɒn/). The culinary sense appears chiefly in set phrases like 'chiffon pie' and 'chiffon cake'.
Easily confused with chiffon
A chignon is a knot or coil of hair worn at the nape of the neck, while chiffon is a sheer lightweight fabric — the words merely sound similar.
A chiffonier is a tall narrow chest of drawers, whereas chiffon is a translucent fabric.