Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 11th Edition
FLEECE
I. noun
Etymology: Middle English flees, from Old English flēos; akin to Middle High German vlius fleece and perhaps to Latin pluma feather, down Date: before 12th century
1. the coat of wool covering a wool-bearing animal (as a sheep), the wool obtained from a sheep at one shearing,
2. any of various soft or woolly coverings, a soft bulky deep-piled knitted or woven fabric used chiefly for clothing,
II. transitive verb (fleeced; fleecing)
Date: 1537
1. to strip of money or property by fraud or extortion, to charge excessively for goods or services, to remove the fleece from ; shear , to dot or cover with fleecy masses