fleecing

noun

1. the wool covering a sheep or similar animal
2. the amount of wool cut from a sheep in one shearing
3. a covering like a sheep's, as of woolly hair
4. a soft, warm, napped fabric, used for linings, etc.

Origin: ME flees < OE fleos, akin to Ger vlies < IE base *pleus-, to pluck out > L pluma, a feather, down

transitive verb fleeced, fleecing

1. to shear the fleece from (sheep, etc.)
2. to steal from by fraud; swindle
3. to cover or fleck with fleecy masses