Forms: α. 5 velym, 5–6 velyme, 5, 7 velim, 6 velime, velem, 7 vellem, β. 5, 7 velum, 5–7 velume (7 velumne), 7– vellum. γ. 7 velom, 7–8 vellom. δ. 7 velame, 7–8 velam, vellam. [ad. OF. velin (vellin, veelin, etc.; mod. F. vélin), f. vel VEAL sb., with change of n to m as in pilgrim, venom.]
1. A fine kind of parchment prepared from the skins of calves (lambs or kids) and used especially for writing, painting or binding; also, any superior quality of parchment or an imitation of this.
Vegetable vellum: see VEGETABLE a. 7.
c. 1440. Promp. Parv., 508/2. Velyme, membrana.
c. 1449. Pecock, Repr., I. xv. 81. That Holi Writt mai be take for the outward lettris writun and schapun vnder dyuerse figuris in parchemyn or in velim.
1519. Horman, Vulg., 80 b. That stouffe that we wrytte vpon, and is made of beestis skynnes, is somtyme called parchement, somtyme velem.
1598. R. Haydocke, trans. Lomazzo, II. 127. The Painters vse general groundes…: saue vpon paper, parchment or velime.
1644. Direct. Publ. Worship, Ord. 3. A fair register book of velim.
fig. 1611. J. Davies (Heref.), To Worthy Persons, Wks. (Grosart), II. 62/1. Vpon th’ unspotted vellem of thy face Nature hath printed characters of grace.
β. 1474. Caxton, Chesse, III. iii. (1883), 93. The Notayres, skynners, coryours, and cardewaners werke by skynnes and hydes, As parchemyn, velume, peltrye and cordewan.
1499. Croscombe Church-w. Acc. (Som. Rec. Soc.), 24. A mass boke of velum lymmyde.
a. 1586. Sidney, Astr. & Stella, Sonn. xi. A childe … With gilded leaues or colourd velume playes.
1616. Drumm. of Hawth., Flowers of Sion, Bk. World. But sillie wee (like foolish Children) rest Well pleas’d with colour’d Velumne.
1699. Bentley, Phal., xvi. 506. And without doubt it was immortal Vellum, and stoln from the Parchmentes of Jove.
1700. Congreve, Way of World, V. iii. I have an old fox by my thigh that shall hack your instrument of ram vellum to shreds, sir!
1710. J. Clarke, trans. Rohault’s Nat. Philos. (1729), I. 243. The Retina [of an artificial eye] was made of a very white thin Piece of Vellum.
a. 1781. R. Watson, Philip III., III. (1839), 159. The deed … was written on paper, and not on vellum, as was usual in all transactions of importance.
1819. Keats, Fall Hyperion, I. 5. Pity these have not Trac’d upon vellum or wild Indian leaf The shadows of melodious utterance.
1855. Mrs. Gaskell, North & S., iii. The Paradise of Dante in the proper old Italian binding of white vellum and gold.
1875. Scrivener, Lect. Gk. Test., 16. The durable fine vellum of our oldest extant codices.
fig. 1784. Cowper, Task, I. 569. The sportive wind blows wide Their flutt’ring rags, and shows a tawny skin, The vellum of the pedigree they claim.
γ. 1601. Hakewill, Van. Eye, xxii. (1615), 110. [To] beholde the heavens, and in them (as in large characters drawn in faire velom) the glory of their maker.
1683. Moxon, Mech. Exerc., Printing, i. One of the first Books Printed on Paper; (that of Tully being on Vellom).
1728. Chambers, Cycl., s.v. Parchment, What we call Vellom is only Parchment made of the Skins of abortive Calves, or at least of sucking Calves.
δ. 1600. Fairfax, Tasso, XIV. lxxvi. The house is builded like a maze within,… The shape whereof plotted in velam thin I will you giue.
1617. Barbier, Jan. Ling., 114. He cancelled a line in the margent of the velame.
1632. Quarles, Div. Fancies, II. xiii. Hee … Whose milk-white Vellam did incurre No least suspition of a Blurre.
1706. Hearne, Collect. (O.H.S.), I. 258. A MSt. in velam. Ibid. (1715), V. 130. King Henry the VIIIth’s Primer upon Vellam.
fig. 1631. Massinger, Emperor East, IV. iv. Can you think This master peece of heauen, this pretious vellam, Of such a puritie and virgin whitenesse, Could be design’d to haue periurie, and whoredome,… writ vpon ’t?
2. A piece or sheet of this material; a manuscript or testimonial written on vellum.
c. 1430. Lydg., Min. Poems (Percy Soc.), 204. A froward velym upon to wryt.
1687. Death’s Vision (1713), 2, note. Like a Velum upon the Head of a Drum.
1878. G. Vigfusson, Sturlunga Saga, I. p. clx. A quarto of 200 leaves when entire (about the largest size ever reached by an Icelandic vellum).
1900. Westm. Gaz., 15 Oct., 6/3. He and his brother … received the vellum of the Royal Humane Society for their plucky conduct.
3. attrib. and Comb. a. Attrib. in the senses ‘made of, resembling, of the nature of, bound in, vellum.’
1565. Golding, Ovid’s Met., IV. 507. With shere and velume wings.
1570. Dee, Math. Pref., a j. All these, liuely designementes … be in velame parchement described.
1586. Hooker, Hist. Irel., in Holinshed, II. 94/1. He ought rather to make sute for some good vellam parchment for the ingrossing thereof.
1636. Davenant, Platonick Lovers, IV. i. Not all thy Leathern, nor thy Vellum friends, those dead companions on thy Shelves shall be more faithful [etc.].
1651. Cleveland, Poems, 46. Who place Religion in their Velam-ears; As in their Phylacters the Jews did theirs.
1707. Hearne, Collect. (O.H.S.), I. 330. A very Ancient Vellam MSt.
1740. Richardson, Pamela (1824), I. 216. Mr Longman has already furnished me with a vellum-book of white paper.
1820. Lamb, Elia, I. South-Sea House. The costly vellum covers of some of them [sc. books].
1882. Miss Braddon, Mt. Royal, III. v. 83. A large vellum envelope.
b. Comb. With pa. pples., as vellum-bound, -covered.
1837. Dickens, Pickw., iv. With vellum-covered books under their arms.
1856. Lever, Martins of Cro’ M., 605. A square vellum-bound book, with massive silver clasps.
1866. Geo. Eliot, F. Holt (1868), 11. Her writing-table, with vellum-covered account-books on it.
c. Special Combs.: vellum-binder (see quot. 1858); vellum-binding, the process or trade of binding account-books; also attrib.; vellum cloth, tracing-cloth; † vellum mode (see MODE sb. 11, quot. 1795); vellum paper, a paper made to imitate vellum; hence vellum-papered adj.; vellum post (see quot.); vellum thunder poet., the noise made by the parchment of a drum.
1858. Simmonds, Dict. Trade, *Vellum-binder, a bookbinder who covers books with vellum, and makes account-books.
1891. Pall Mall G., 20 Nov., 3/1. Three of them are concerned with the bookbinders—that is, the binders of printed books—and the fourth with the vellum-binders, the technical name for account-book binders.
1835. J. Hannett, Bibliopegia, III. (Heading), 139. Of Stationery, or *Vellum Binding.
1891. Pall Mall G., 20 Nov., 3/1. As soon as it was known that the bookbinders were going to concede the eight hours, several of the best vellum-binding firms conceded it also.
1888. Jacobi, Printers’ Vocab., 151. *Vellum laid paper, a laid writing paper with a vellum surface. Ibid., Vellum wove paper, a wove writing paper with a vellum surface.
1858. O. W. Holmes, Aut. Breakf.-t. (1883), 73. Look at … the … *vellum-papered 32 mo.
1847. Webster, *Vellum-post, a peculiar sort of superior writing-paper.
1716. Gay, Trivia, II. 18. Here Rows of Drummers stand in martial File, And with their *Vellom-Thunder shake the Pile.
Hence Vellumy a., relating to or resembling vellum (Worcester, 1846, citing Ec. Rev.).
1788. J. Bolton, Hist. Fungusses Halifax, I. 53. A smooth vellumy surface. Ibid., 87. Of a tough, hard, vellumy substance.
1795. Vermont Gaz., 27 March, 3/1. The outer green capsule alone [of the silk weed has been made] into a greenish, strong vellumy paper.
