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drapery

[drey-puh-ree]
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noun, plural drap·er·ies.
  1. coverings, hangings, clothing, etc., of fabric, especially as arranged in loose, graceful folds.
  2. Often draperies. long curtains, usually of heavy fabric and often designed to open and close across a window.
  3. the draping or arranging of hangings, clothing, etc., in graceful folds.
  4. Art. hangings, clothing, etc., as represented in sculpture or painting.
  5. cloths or textile fabrics collectively.
  6. British.
    1. dry goods.
    2. the stock, shop, or business of a draper.
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Origin of drapery

1250–1300; Middle English draperie < Old French, equivalent to drap cloth + -erie -ery
Related formsdrap·er·ied, adjectiveun·dra·per·ied, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for drapery

Historical Examples

  • She asked to see it, and I wheeled out the easel and threw the drapery back.

    The Greater Inclination

    Edith Wharton

  • Drawings of a male body, a female body, and a piece of drapery.

    Albert Durer

    T. Sturge Moore

  • Steps were heard in the gallery—the drapery at the door was agitated.

  • The artist was working on a picture of a nude Bacchante sprawled on some drapery.

    Therese Raquin

    Emile Zola

  • She arose, and with a grand sweep of her drapery, moved toward the door.

    Tales From Two Hemispheres

    Hjalmar Hjorth Boysen

British Dictionary definitions for drapery

drapery

noun plural -peries
  1. fabric or clothing arranged and draped
  2. (often plural) curtains or hangings that drape
  3. British the occupation or shop of a draper
  4. fabrics and cloth collectively
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Derived Formsdraperied, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for drapery

n.

early 14c., "cloth, textiles," from Old French draperie (12c.) "weaving, cloth-making, clothes shop," from drap (see drape (n.)). From late 14c. as "place where cloth is made; cloth market." Meaning "stuff with which something is draped" is 1680s.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper