filigree
Part of speech: noun
verb
Morphological type: simple
Topics: jewelry
lifestyle
Etymology: From French filigrane, from Italian filigrana, from Latin fīlum (“thread”) + grānum (“grain”).
Inflected forms:
form: filigrees
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: filagree
pos: noun
tags: alternative
form: fillagree
pos: noun
tags: alternative
archaic
form: filligree
pos: noun
tags: alternative
archaic
form: filigrees
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: filigreeing
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: filigreed
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: filigreed
pos: verb
tags: past
form: filagree
pos: verb
tags: alternative
form: fillagree
pos: verb
tags: alternative
archaic
form: filligree
pos: verb
tags: alternative
archaic
Senses:
gloss: A delicate and intricate ornamentation made from platinum, gold or silver (or sometimes other metal) twisted wire.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
examples: To carry pure death in an earring, a casket, / A signet, a fan-mount, a filigree basket!
There were antiquities from Central Italy, made by the best modern houses in that department of industry; […] Genoese velvets and filigree, Neapolitan coral, Roman cameos, Geneva jewellery, Arab lanterns, rosaries blest all round by the Pope himself, and an infinite variety of lumber.
[…] the repose of the pool, the idle motions of the insects and flies upon it, the placid waving of the flags, the leaf-skeletons, like Genoese filigree, placidly sleeping at the bottom, by their contrast with her own turmoil made her impatience greater.
Her brown hair was waved in front and done up behind in a great twist, held by a tortoiseshell comb with gold filigree.
She examined and appraised with much interest the diamond-tipped arrow which had been pinned on May's bosom at the conclusion of the match, remarking that in her day a filigree brooch would have been thought enough, but that there was no denying that Beaufort did things handsomely.
After that, having studied herself gravely in a long glass, she took from one of the drawers of her dressing-table a black leather card-case cornered in silver filigree, but found it empty.
The quality of the Anglo-Saxon gold work, with many of the pieces decorated with filigree, ribbon interlace animals with almost invisible gemstone eyes, and tiny cut garnets backed by engraved gold to make them glitter more, whose detail can really only be appreciated under a microscope, is surpassed only by the treasures of the Sutton Hoo hoard.
gloss: Anything resembling such intricate ornamentation.
pos: noun
tags: broadly
countable
uncountable
examples: But why speak about her? It is probable that we shall not hear of her again from this moment to the end of time, and that when the great filigree iron gates are once closed on her, she and her awful sister will never issue therefrom into this little world of history.
The trees grew so thickly and their foliage spread so widely that I could see nothing of the moon-light save that here and there the high branches made a tangled filigree against the starry sky.
Only the hair as it arched so beautifully from her temples was mixed with silver, and the two simple plaits that lay on her shoulders were filigree of silver and brown.
His music is an unlikely mix, combining an openness and simplicity culled from folk traditions, harmonies that are haunting like Copland and triumphant like Brahms, ornaments and fillagrees that Schoenberg would have appreciated, and a treatment of lyrics that is Burkholder's own unique gift.
Here it was the province of an electronic harpsichordlike timbre (presumably from a laptop) and an electric bass, played assertively by Zach Layton and supported by the drummer, David Justh. Mr. Justh added considerable filigree in the course of the 66-minute performance, none sanctioned by the score, but captivating enough to justify its berth.
gloss: To decorate something with intricate ornamentation made from gold or silver twisted wire.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
Translations: