openwork

[oh-puh n-wurk]

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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

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

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

openwork

noun