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

See Examples For:

frostwork

It was the very perfection of Gothic carving, and resembled frostwork in its lightness.

From Sunny Memories of Foreign Lands, Volume 2 by Harriet Beecher Stowe

Now, being irrevocably awake, you peep through the half-drawn window-curtain, and observe that the glass is ornamented with fanciful devices in frostwork, and that each pane presents something like a frozen dream.

From The Haunted Mind (From "Twice Told Tales") by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Before sunrise, doubtless, the blaze hovered upon the gray skirts of night and dissolved the frostwork that had gathered like a curtain over the small window-panes.

From Fire Worship (From "Mosses from an Old Manse") by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Fir and hemlock of a century's growth," he says, "met overhead and formed an archway, radiant with frostwork.

From Thrilling Adventures by Land and Sea by James O. Brayman

The small panes of his window were so obscured by frostwork that he did not attempt to look through the glass, but opened his door.

From What Necessity Knows by Lily Dougall