damask

American  

[dam-uhsk] / ˈdæm əsk /

noun

1. a reversible fabric of linen, silk, cotton, or wool, woven with patterns.

2. napery of this material.

3. Metallurgy.

   1. Also called damask steel.  Damascus steel.

   2. the pattern or wavy appearance peculiar to the surface of such steel.

4. the pink color of the damask rose.

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adjective

1. made of or resembling damask.

   damask cloth.

2. of the pink color of the damask rose.

verb (used with object)

• damasks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• damasked,
  past participle,  past
• damasking
  present participle

1. to damascene.

2. to weave or adorn with elaborate design, as damask cloth.

damask British  

/ ˈdæməsk /

noun

1. 1. a reversible fabric, usually silk or linen, with a pattern woven into it. It is used for table linen, curtains, etc

   2. table linen made from this

   3. ( as modifier )

      a damask tablecloth

2. short for Damascus steel

3. the wavy markings on such steel

4. 1. the greyish-pink colour of the damask rose

   2. ( as adjective )

      damask wallpaper

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verb

1. (tr) another word for damascene

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• undamasked
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• damasking
  present
• damasked
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• damask
  simple
• damasks
  simple
• have damasked
  perfect
• has damasked
  perfect
• am damasking
  progressive
• are damasking
  progressive
• is damasking
  progressive
• have been damasking
  perfect progressive
• has been damasking
  perfect progressive

Past

• damasked
  simple
• had damasked
  perfect
• was damasking
  progressive
• were damasking
  progressive
• had been damasking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will damask
  simple
• will have damasked
  perfect
• will be damasking
  progressive
• will have been damasking
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of damask

1200–50; Middle English damaske < Medieval Latin damascus, named after Damascus where fabrics were first made

Explanation

Damask is a luxurious, heavy fabric that's often used to upholster furniture. Your grandparents love their new kitten so much that they don't even mind her clawing holes in their damask curtains. The word damask comes from Damascus, the Syrian city where this kind of fabric was originally made — it literally means "cloth from Damascus." Damask was one of the main styles of weaving during the early Middle Ages, and it has been a popular choice for fancy clothing, table coverings, and home decor ever since. Today some damask is made of synthetic material, but historically it was most often made from silk.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

damask damasks damasked

Across the landing, the Yellow Room also boasts expensive furnishings, especially the bed, which is covered in bright yellow damask, re-creating a bed Washington acquired in 1758.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 7, 2026

After the service, Francis's body — dressed in a red chasuble and a damask and golden papal mitre — will be transported to the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome for burial.

From BBC ● Apr. 25, 2025

Opie’s backdrop is a damask drapery in dark green, red’s vivifying complementary color.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 31, 2024

The damask tablecloth didn’t come until relatively late: the 12th century.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 5, 2023

And instead of the white oilcloth and paper napkins of the dining room, Faye’s table was covered with a white damask cloth and the napkins were linen.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

Much of the furniture - Empire style - is what she acquired, as are the silk damasks on the walls.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2014

A double is about 430 square feet, but small rooms are counterbalanced by refined interiors, featuring color-coordinated damasks on the beds and armchairs and fine antique wood tables mixed with Lucite ones.

From Time Magazine Archive

He had never seen the eunuch dress in anything but silk and velvet and the richest damasks, and this man smelled of sweat instead of lilacs.

From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin

When she opened it, she found piles of the finest velvets and damasks the Free Cities could produce . . . and resting on top, nestled in the soft cloth, three huge eggs.

From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin

Her gardens are full of roses—sprawling, old tangled bushes, quite a few of them autumn-flowering damasks with their last flowers still nodding and drooping in the rain.

From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein

He picked out from the pile of grim weapons two knives, leaf-bladed, damasked in gold and red; and searching further he found also the sheaths, black, set with small red gems.

From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien

For each of the hobbits he chose a dagger, long, leaf-shaped, and keen, of marvellous workmanship, damasked with serpent-forms in red and gold.

From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien

From the great recess under the bed she raked out as a rare curiosity an old Dolly Varden or damasked skirt, not at all worn, quite pretty, and evidently of considerable value to a collector. 

From The Gypsies by Charles Godfrey Leland

But it was a glorious beast when set, richly black, barred and striped with damasked cream over a flame of orange-scarlet.

From Sinister Street, vol. 1 by Compton MacKenzie

In other places the rock was damasked like a Saracen buckler, or engraved like a Florentine vase.

From Toilers of the Sea by Victor Hugo

Related Words

• bedding
• cloth
• lingerie