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; grape

Example Sentences

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

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.

On the day of her marriage she distributed a thousand francs among the poor, and her friends showered costly gifts on her, among them being an agraffe of pearls from the Queen of France.

From Great Singers, Second Series Malibran To Titiens by Ferris, George T. (George Titus)

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

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)