agraffe

American  

[uh-graf] / əˈgræf /

Or agrafe

noun

1. a small cramp iron.

2. a clasp, often richly ornamented, for clothing or armor.

3. a device, as a hook, for preventing vibration in the section of a piano string between the pin and the bridge.

4. (in classical architecture) a sculptural relief on the face of a keystone.

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agraffe British  

/ əˈɡræf /

noun

1. a fastening consisting of a loop and hook, formerly used in armour and clothing

2. a metal cramp used to connect stones

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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

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.

So Countess Yarmouth appeared as a sultana, and his Majesty in a Turkish dress wore an agraffe of diamonds, and was very merry, was he?

From Henry Esmond; The English Humourists; The Four Georges by Saintsbury, George

The feather of an ostrich, fastened in her turban by an agraffe set with brilliants.

From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary by Webster, Noah

Sometimes he wore a biretta with a diamond agraffe and a high plume of heron feathers.

From Napoleon's Campaign in Russia Anno 1812 by Rose, Achilles

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)