marquetry

American  

[mahr-ki-tree] / ˈmɑr kɪ tri /

Also marqueterie

noun

plural

marquetries

1. inlaid work of variously colored woods or other materials, especially in furniture.

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marquetry British  

/ ˈmɑːkɪtrɪ /

noun

1. a pattern of inlaid veneers of wood, brass, ivory, etc, fitted together to form a picture or design, used chiefly as ornamentation in furniture Compare parquetry

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Etymology

Origin of marquetry

1555–65; < Middle French marqueterie inlaid work, equivalent to marquet ( er ) to speckle, spot, inlay (literally, make marks < Germanic; see mark ¹) + -erie -ery

Example Sentences

A massive Ruhlmann sideboard, first made in 1920, is inlaid with an ivory marquetry pattern that suggests—to me, least—soap bubbles.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 23, 2025

Wanting people to spend time scrutinizing and studying the art piece, he blended Judaism’s Ten Commandments in Hebrew in his marquetry design.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 31, 2022

Renaissance masters from the 1400s-1600s created elaborate marquetry works for palaces and churches in Italy, Germany and other areas of Western Europe.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 21, 2022

It is set atop marquetry of turquoise and yellow Mookaite jasper from Australia, both chosen for their inclusions that give the delicate stone-setting the appearance of age.

From New York Times • Jun. 14, 2022

They installed me at the marquetry table with some harmless dummy documents to work on—finding the best connections between French rail and bus timetables and making a list of them in German.

From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein