fleece

Etymology

From Middle English flees, flese, flus, fleos, from Old English flēos, flīes, flȳs, from Proto-West Germanic *fleus.

noun

1. (uncountable) Hair or wool of a sheep or similar animal
2. (uncountable) Insulating skin with the wool attached
3. (countable) A textile similar to velvet, but with a longer pile that gives it a softness and a higher sheen.
4. (countable) An insulating wooly jacket
5. (roofing) Mat or felts composed of fibers, sometimes used as a membrane backer.
6. Any soft woolly covering resembling a fleece.
7. The fine web of cotton or wool removed by the doffing knife from the cylinder of a carding machine.

verb

1. (transitive) To con or trick (someone) out of money.
   There is a difference between bookmaking, an entirely respectable profession, and fleecing people, which isn’t. 2 Aug 2015, “All bets are off: why bookmakers aren’t playing fair”, in The Observer, archived from the original on 2020-01-21
2. (transitive) To shear the fleece from (a sheep or other animal).
   During spring shearing we have to fleece all the sheep in just a few days.
3. (transitive) To cover with, or as if with, wool.