tapestry

[ tap-uh-stree ]

/ ˈtæp ə stri /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tapestry ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural tap·es·tries.

a fabric consisting of a warp upon which colored threads are woven by hand to produce a design, often pictorial, used for wall hangings, furniture coverings, etc.

a machine-woven reproduction of this.

verb (used with object), tap·es·tried, tap·es·try·ing.

to furnish, cover, or adorn with tapestry.

to represent or depict in a tapestry.

RELATED WORDS

drapery, hanging, arras, dosser

Nearby words

taper pin, taper relief, tapered roller bearing, taperstick, tapestried, tapestry, tapestry brussels, tapestry moth, tapetoretinal, tapetoretinal retinopathy, tapetum

Origin of tapestry

1400–50; late Middle English tapst(e)ry, tapistry < Middle French tapisserie carpeting. See tapis, -ery

Related formstap·es·try·like, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for tapestry

I am thrilled because the subject matter is rich, but I like that it is a tapestry of color, which is very much needed.
Octavia Spencer on Hollywood and Race: The Film Roles I’m Offered Are Too Small|Marlow Stern|July 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It looks as if it has been made from a Medieval tapestry, the colors rich and worn-looking.
Here Comes the Bride…In Flaming Red: Two Centuries of Colorful Wedding Dresses|Liza Foreman|May 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In a lovely circular twist, the tapestry's true subject turns out to be the luxe of which it's an example.
Unicorn, the Luxury Meat|Blake Gopnik|July 16, 2013|DAILY BEAST
A tapestry like this was the ultimate luxury good and status symbol, worth so much more than a measly painting.
Unicorn, the Luxury Meat|Blake Gopnik|July 16, 2013|DAILY BEAST

This tapestry was woven in Flanders in about 1500 for a noble French client.
Unicorn, the Luxury Meat|Blake Gopnik|July 16, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The border of a tapestry must appertain, must be an integral part of the whole design for the sake of artistic harmony.
The Tapestry Book|Helen Churchill Candee
Alas for tapestry weaving of to-day, the usual modern cartoon is a staring anachronism, and a conglomerate of modes.
The Tapestry Book|Helen Churchill Candee
He raised himself amongst the down pillows, and contemplated the figures upon the tapestry in a drowsy reverie.
John Marchmont's Legacy, Volumes I-III|Mary E. Braddon
That same evening, the tapestry was discovered in a trunk deposited in the cloak-room at the Gare Saint-Lazare.
The Confessions of Arsne Lupin|Maurice Leblanc
The warm sun has dissipated the dew which rendered visible to our dull eyes the tapestry of the fields.
Cornell Nature-Study Leaflets|Various

British Dictionary definitions for tapestry

tapestry

/ (ˈtæpɪstrɪ) /

noun plural -tries

a heavy ornamental fabric, often in the form of a picture, used for wall hangings, furnishings, etc, and made by weaving coloured threads into a fixed warp

another word for needlepoint

a colourful and complicated situationthe rich tapestry of London life

Derived Formstapestried, adjectivetapestry-like, adjective

Word Origin for tapestry

C15: from Old French tapisserie carpeting, from Old French tapiz carpet; see tapis

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 tapestry

tapestry

mid-15c., variant of tapissery (early 15c.), from Middle French tapisserie "tapestry" (14c.), from tapisser "to cover with heavy fabric," from tapis "heavy fabric," from Old French tapiz (12c.), from Vulgar Latin *tappetium, from Byzantine Greek tapetion, from classical Greek, diminutive of tapes (genitive tapetos) "tapestry, heavy fabric," probably from an Iranian source (cf. Persian taftan, tabidan "to turn, twist"). The figurative use is first recorded 1580s.