agraffe
Americannoun
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a small cramp iron.
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a clasp, often richly ornamented, for clothing or armor.
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a device, as a hook, for preventing vibration in the section of a piano string between the pin and the bridge.
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(in classical architecture) a sculptural relief on the face of a keystone.
noun
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a fastening consisting of a loop and hook, formerly used in armour and clothing
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a metal cramp used to connect stones
Etymology
Origin of agraffe
1660–70; < French, variant of agrafe, noun derivative of agrafer to hook, equivalent to a- a- 5 + grafe hook, cramp iron, probably < Germanic; see grape
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It was encircled by a necklace composed of seven rows of garnets and fastened in front with an agraffe.
From On the Heights A Novel by Auerbach, Berthold
His doublet was of cloth of gold, edged with fringe of the same; his cloak of purple velvet, richly embroidered, was fastened on the shoulder by an agraffe of superb diamonds.
From Prince Eugene and His Times by Mühlbach, L. (Luise)
The shoes of purple velvet were fastened with buckles of diamonds to correspond with the agraffe of the cloak.
From Prince Eugene and His Times by Mühlbach, L. (Luise)
His eyes sparkled even more lustrously than the gems in the agraffe of the crescent on the sultan's turban.
From Mohammed Ali and His House by Coleman, Chapman, Mrs.
Each one acquired a hatkin with its agraffe: some of a greedy nature, by stealth, possessed themselves of two.
From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine — Volume 56, No. 346, August, 1844 by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
