openwork

[ oh-puh n-wurk ]

/ ˈoʊ pənˌwɜrk /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR openwork ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

any kind of work, especially ornamental, as of embroidery, lace, metal, stone, or wood, having a latticelike nature or showing openings through its substance.

Nearby words

opening night, opening snap, opening time, openly, openness, openwork, oper., opera, opera buffa, opera cloak, opera glass

Origin of openwork

First recorded in 1590–1600; open + work

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for openwork

There is an openwork balustrade which surrounds the platform of the bell tower.
Notre-Dame de Paris|Victor Hugo
Inside this openwork ball hung a small glass vessel full of acid.
Over the Front in an Aeroplane and Scenes Inside the French and Flemish Trenches|Ralph Pulitzer
The result was an openwork pattern heavily encrusted with beautiful fine embroidery.
The Land of Footprints|Stewart Edward White
Royal Worcester Plate, with openwork border, gilt, and having turquoise panels.
Sixty Years a Queen|Sir Herbert Maxwell

Openwork silk net; made on the pillow as lace by young women of Tulle, France.
Textiles|William H. Dooley

British Dictionary definitions for openwork

openwork

/ (ˈəʊpənˌwɜːk) /

noun

ornamental work, as of metal or embroidery, having a pattern of openings or holes

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

openwork

noun

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of openwork

Examples from the Web for openwork

British Dictionary definitions for openwork

openwork

noun