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

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

Three days after the marriage had been annulled, she was wedded to Charles de Bériot, the violinist, and we read that "the Queen of France presented the bride with a costly agraffe, embellished with pearls."

From Garcia the Centenarian And His Times Being a Memoir of Manuel Garcia's Life and Labours for the Advancement of Music and Science by Mackinlay, M. (Malcolm) Sterling

A young girl is about to join together on her left shoulder the chiton, which is fastened over the right shoulder by means of an agraffe.

From Museum of Antiquity A Description of Ancient Life by Haines, T. L. (Thomas Louis)

The king appeared in a Turkish dress; his turban was ornamented with a magnificent agraffe of diamonds; the Lady Yarmouth was dressed as a sultana; nobody was more beautiful than the Princess of Hesse.”

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

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.