tapestry

American  

[tap-uh-stree] / ˈtæp ə stri /

noun

PLURAL

tapestries

1. a fabric consisting of a warp upon which colored threads are woven by hand to produce a design, often pictorial, used for wall hangings, furniture coverings, etc.

2. a machine-woven reproduction of this.

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verb (used with object)

tapestried, tapestrying

1. to furnish, cover, or adorn with tapestry.

2. to represent or depict in a tapestry.

tapestry British  

/ ˈtæpɪstrɪ /

noun

1. a heavy ornamental fabric, often in the form of a picture, used for wall hangings, furnishings, etc, and made by weaving coloured threads into a fixed warp

2. another word for needlepoint

3. a colourful and complicated situation

   the rich tapestry of London life

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Other Word Forms

• tapestried adjective
• tapestry-like adjective
• tapestrylike adjective

Etymology

Origin of tapestry

1400–50; late Middle English tapst ( e ) ry, tapistry < Middle French tapisserie carpeting. See tapis, -ery

Example Sentences

The painting shows Lederer, an heiress and the daughter of one of Klimt's patrons, wearing a white robe and stood in front of a blue tapestry covered in Asian motifs.

From BBC

The piece depicts the daughter of Klimt's main patron dressed in a white imperial Chinese dress, standing before a blue tapestry with Asian-inspired motifs.

From Barron's

Glorious failure is something that has long been woven into the rich tapestry of this country's footballing past.

From BBC

Tinubu—a Muslim married to one of Nigeria’s most prominent Christian Pentecostal preachers—debated traveling to Washington, to explain the complex religious tapestry of a country evenly split between both faiths, Nigerian officials said.

From The Wall Street Journal

Family is like a tapestry, sewn together in a constant story despite different constructions and experiences.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• drapery