arras
noun
a rich tapestry.
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arvas.
arras
1 American
[ar-uhs]
/ ˈær əs /
noun
-
a rich tapestry.
-
a tapestry weave.
-
a wall hanging, as a tapestry or similar object.
-
Theater. a curtain suspended loosely across a stage and used as a backdrop or part of a stage setting.
arras
2
American
[ahr-ahs, ahr-r ahs]
/ ˈɑr ɑs, ˈɑr rɑs /
noun
(used with a singular verb)
Arras
3
American
[ar-uhs, a -rahs]
/ ˈær əs, aˈrɑs /
noun
Arras
1
British
/ arɑs, ˈærəs /
noun
arras
2
British
/ ˈærəs /
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of arras1
1375–1425; late Middle English, named after Arras
Origin of arras2
< Spanish: literally, earnest money. See earnest 2
Explanation
An arras is a tapestry that's hung as a decoration, especially one decorated with complex stitched designs. There's a famous reference to an arras in Shakespeare's play Hamlet, when Polonius hides in an alcove behind an arras to eavesdrop. Imagine the kind of heavy woven tapestries you might see in a museum when you think of an arras. The name comes from the French city where they were first made, Arras in northern France. The original term for this fabric was draps d'arras, or "cloths of Arras."
Vocabulary lists containing arras
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
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Much Ado About Nothing
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The Taming of the Shrew
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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.
See Examples For:
Staged moments — characters eavesdropping like Polonius behind his arras, lovers exchanging vows — baldly recall the genre’s cliches.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 10, 2015
But I don't like it when they jump up and down behind the arras like Polonius in Hamlet, trying to distract my attention from the poor old actors.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 4, 2012
So frequently does the play come up, indeed, that it has become a tradition at the annual Critics' Circle dinner to nail one Sambuca for every arras you've seen stabbed.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 11, 2010
It is only possible to do the job properly from behind the arras.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 9, 2010
The arras that hid my father and Claudius barely stirred.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
He succeeded in escaping a PoW camp at Arras in France.
From BBC ● Mar. 10, 2025
He met Lluvia Arras, L.A.-based author of “A Kids Book About Blended Families,” when their sons were playing soccer together.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2024
Several hundreds of students and teachers went back into the high school in the northern town of Arras after what appeared to be a false alert.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 16, 2023
The French government has deployed 7,000 troops as the perceived threat of terrorism rises in the wake of the stabbing in Arras and heightened tensions caused by the conflict in Israel and Gaza.
From Salon ● Oct. 14, 2023
They said they had driven all the way to a hamlet near Arras in their flatbed farm truck to look for a young cousin and her children.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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.
