filigree
Americannoun
-
delicate ornamental work of fine silver, gold, or other metal wires, especially lacy jewelers' work of scrolls and arabesques.
-
anything very delicate or fanciful.
a filigree of frost.
adjective
verb (used with object)
noun
-
delicate ornamental work of twisted gold, silver, or other wire
-
any fanciful delicate ornamentation
adjective
verb
Other Word Forms
- filigreed adjective
Etymology
Origin of filigree
First recorded in 1685–95; earlier filigreen, variant of filigrain
Explanation
Ancient handmade jewelry is often known for its filigree, which is a noun describing delicate ornamental work made of some type of metal. Filigree comes from the Latin word for thread. Usually the strands of silver, gold, or wire used for this type of ornamentation is so fine, it appears almost like thin threads wound together. It wouldn’t be a bad find to stumble on a chest full of gold filigree-framed items in your grandmother’s attic, especially if she wanted you to keep them! The word can also be used as a verb to describe the act of making filigree.
Vocabulary lists containing filigree
Beowulf
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This Week In Words: April 26–May 2, 2020
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The Night Circus
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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.
Inside a converted chocolate factory outside of Milan, a master goldsmith sat at a workstation, shaping a strip of metal into filigree so fine it resembled lace.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026
Your eye is drawn to the dazzling, filigree lace around the neck of the young woman.
From BBC • Sep. 22, 2023
If, as the New York Times’ Amanda Hess argues, we live in the “golden age of celebrity branding,” liquor is the filigree on its balustrades, the inlay on its armoires, the leaf on its chandeliers.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2023
The Shang piece is surprisingly realistic but also elegantly decorative, covered in complex filigree.
From Washington Post • Apr. 4, 2023
Some of the Indian women wore their finest saris, made with gold filigree that draped in elegant pleats over their shoulders.
From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri
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.
