guilloche

[gi-lohsh]

noun

an ornamental pattern or border, as in architecture, consisting of paired ribbons or lines flowing in interlaced curves around a series of circular voids.

Origin of guilloche

1855–60; < French: graining tool < ?

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for guilloche

Historical Examples of guilloche

Figure 115—Guilloche is missing from the List of Illustrations in the original text.
Architecture
Thomas Roger Smith
They include the meander, the scroll, the fret, and the guilloche.
Ancient art of the province of Chiriqui, Colombia
William Henry Holmes
Guilloche, gil-losh′, n. an ornament formed of two or more bands intertwining in a continued series.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M)
Various
In one case the effect of the guilloche is given in the same manner.
Pottery of the ancient Pueblos. (1886 N 04 / 1882-1883 (pages 257-360))
William Henry Holmes
Nowhere else in British New Guinea do we find the continuous loop coil pattern, the guilloche, or loop coils.
Evolution in Art
Alfred C. Haddon

British Dictionary definitions for guilloche

guilloche

noun

an ornamental band or border with a repeating pattern of two or more interwoven wavy lines, as in architecture

Word Origin for guilloche

C19: from French: tool used in ornamental work, perhaps from Guillaume William

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