tapestry

[tap-uh-stree]

noun

plural

tapestries 

1. 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.

2. a machine-woven reproduction of this.

verb (used with object)

tapestried, tapestrying 

1. to furnish, cover, or adorn with tapestry.

2. to represent or depict in a tapestry.

tapestry

/ ˈtæpɪstrɪ /

noun

1. 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

2. another word for needlepoint

3. a colourful and complicated situation

   the rich tapestry of London life

Other Word Forms

• tapestrylike adjective
• tapestried adjective
• tapestry-like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of tapestry¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of tapestry¹

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

Example Sentences

The painting shows Lederer, an heiress and the daughter of one of Klimt's patrons, wearing a white robe and stood in front of a blue tapestry covered in Asian motifs.

Read more on BBC

The piece depicts the daughter of Klimt's main patron dressed in a white imperial Chinese dress, standing before a blue tapestry with Asian-inspired motifs.

Read more on Barron's

Glorious failure is something that has long been woven into the rich tapestry of this country's footballing past.

Read more on BBC

It’s about the size of a ruler and covered in a tapestry of calico fur.

Read more on Literature

Tinubu—a Muslim married to one of Nigeria’s most prominent Christian Pentecostal preachers—debated traveling to Washington, to explain the complex religious tapestry of a country evenly split between both faiths, Nigerian officials said.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• drapery