Filigree

/ˈfɪl.ɪ.ɡɹiː/ · noun

Meaning

(chiefly jewelry) A delicate and intricate ornamentation made from platinum, gold or silver (or sometimes other metal) twisted wire..

Definitions by Sense

1. (chiefly jewelry) A delicate and intricate ornamentation made from platinum, gold or silver (or sometimes other metal) twisted wire.
2. (by extension) Anything resembling such intricate ornamentation.
3. (transitive) To decorate something with intricate ornamentation made from gold or silver twisted wire.

Example Sentences

To carry pure death in an earring, a casket, / A signet, a fan-mount, a filigree basket!

There were antiquities from Central Italy, made by the best modern houses in that department of industry; […] Genoese velvets and filigree, Neapolitan coral, Roman cameos, Geneva jewellery, Arab lanterns, rosaries blest all round by the Pope himself, and an infinite variety of lumber.

[…] the repose of the pool, the idle motions of the insects and flies upon it, the placid waving of the flags, the leaf-skeletons, like Genoese filigree, placidly sleeping at the bottom, by their contrast with her own turmoil made her impatience greater.

Her brown hair was waved in front and done up behind in a great twist, held by a tortoiseshell comb with gold filigree.

She examined and appraised with much interest the diamond-tipped arrow which had been pinned on May's bosom at the conclusion of the match, remarking that in her day a filigree brooch would have been thought enough, but that there was no denying that Beaufort did things handsomely.

After that, having studied herself gravely in a long glass, she took from one of the drawers of her dressing-table a black leather card-case cornered in silver filigree, but found it empty.

The quality of the Anglo-Saxon gold work, with many of the pieces decorated with filigree, ribbon interlace animals with almost invisible gemstone eyes, and tiny cut garnets backed by engraved gold to make them glitter more, whose detail can really only be appreciated under a microscope, is surpassed only by the treasures of the Sutton Hoo hoard.

But why speak about her? It is probable that we shall not hear of her again from this moment to the end of time, and that when the great filigree iron gates are once closed on her, she and her awful sister will never issue therefrom into this little world of history.

Synonyms for filigree

Antonyms for filigree

Related Words

Word Forms

• filigrees
• filagree
• fillagree
• filligree
• filigreeing
• filigreed

Usage Notes

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