imbricate

[adjective im-bri-kit, -keyt; verb im-bri-keyt]

See more synonyms for imbricate on Thesaurus.com

adjective

overlapping in sequence, as tiles or shingles on a roof.
of, relating to, or resembling overlapping tiles, as decoration or drawings.
Biology. overlapping like tiles, as scales or leaves.

characterized by or as if by overlapping shingles.

verb (used with or without object), im·bri·cat·ed, im·bri·cat·ing.

to overlap, as tiles or shingles.

Origin of imbricate

1650–60; < Late Latin imbricātus tiled with imbrices, shaped like such a tile or tiling, equivalent to imbric- (stem of imbrex) imbrex + -ātus -ate¹

Related formsim·bri·cate·ly, adverbim·bri·ca·tive, adjectivenon·im·bri·cate, adjectivenon·im·bri·cate·ly, adverbnon·im·bri·cat·ed, adjectivenon·im·bri·cat·ing, adjectivenon·im·bri·ca·tive, adjectivesub·im·bri·cate, adjectivesub·im·bri·cate·ly, adverbsub·im·bri·cat·ed, adjectivesub·im·bri·ca·tive, adjective

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

Related Words for imbricate

envelop, enfold, swathe, fold, ride, cover, twist, turn, override, wrap, swaddle, imbricate, shingle, overlie, flap, overlay, project, overhang, protrude, overrun

Examples from the Web for imbricate

Historical Examples of imbricate

The first and oldest of these varieties is generally called Scale or Imbricate armour.
Armour & Weapons
Charles John Ffoulkes
Calyx 5-parted, valvate in the staminate flowers, imbricate in the pistillate.
The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States
Asa Gray
Head small: base of the wings covered with conspicuous, lengthened, imbricate scales.
Zoological Illustrations, Volume III
William Swainson
Scales on the back rounded, quincuncial, imbricate; those on the belly similar to those on the back and on the sides.
Reptiles and Birds
Louis Figuier
Head large, covered with small rather unequal not imbricate scales.
Discoveries in Australia, Volume 1.
J Lort Stokes

British Dictionary definitions for imbricate

imbricate

adjective (ˈɪmbrɪkɪt, -ˌkeɪt) imbricated

architect relating to or having tiles, shingles, or slates that overlap
botany (of leaves, scales, etc) overlapping each other

verb (ˈɪmbrɪˌkeɪt)

(tr) to decorate with a repeating pattern resembling scales or overlapping tiles

Derived Formsimbricately, adverbimbrication, noun

Word Origin for imbricate

C17: from Latin imbricāre to cover with overlapping tiles, from imbrex pantile

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 imbricate

1704 (implied in imbricated), from Latin imbricatus "covered with tiles," past participle of imbricare "to cover with rain tiles" (see imbrication). As an adjective from 1650s. Related: Imbricated; imbricating.

imbricate in Medicine

imbricate

[ĭm′brĭ-kāt′]

adj.

Having the edges overlapping in a regular arrangement like roof tiles or the scales of a fish.

Related formsim′bri•ca′tion n.