frostwork

American  

[frawst-wurk, frost-] / ˈfrɔstˌwɜrk, ˈfrɒst- /

noun

1. the delicate tracery formed by frost, especially on glass.

2. similar ornamentation, as on metal.

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frostwork British  

/ ˈfrɒstˌwɜːk /

noun

1. the patterns made by frost on glass, metal, etc

2. similar artificial ornamentation

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Etymology

Origin of frostwork

First recorded in 1640–50; frost + work

Example Sentences

The little frostwork which Titmouse had thrown around his heart, began to melt like snow under sunbeams.

From Ten Thousand a-Year. Volume 1. by Warren, Samuel

Allow me to present my humble views of an analogous discovery of frostwork on December 6, 1856, in a sandy loam in Chester county, Pa., near the Paoli monument.

From Scientific American, Volume XXXVI., No. 8, February 24, 1877 A Weekly Journal of Practical Information, Art, Science, Mechanics, Chemistry, and Manufactures. by Various

For a good many years we have been tied to town in winter by fetters as fine as frostwork filigree, which we could not break without destroying a whole world of endearment.

From Recreations of Christopher North, Volume 2 by Wilson, John

All day pale golden sunlight flooded the whitened grass, which sometimes glittered with frostwork in early morning, while as the nights grew longer, the wild fowl came down from the north.

From Lorimer of the Northwest by Dewey, Alfred James

Under its upper part they could see a grille of frostwork, close-wrought, glistening, and white.

From Darrel of the Blessed Isles by Bacheller, Irving