Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A rich patterned fabric of cotton, linen, silk, or wool.
- noun A fine, twilled table linen.
- noun Damascus steel.
- noun The wavy pattern on Damascus steel.
- transitive verb To damascene.
- transitive verb To decorate or weave with rich patterns.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To deface or destroy by tamping or marking: as, to
damask seditious books. - To ornament (a metal) with flowers or patterns on the surface, especially by the application of another metal. See
damaskeen . - To variegate; diversify.
- noun A textile fabric woven in elaborate patterns.
- noun A pink color like that of the damask rose; a highly luminous crimson red reduced in chroma, and not appearing to incline to either orange or purple.
- noun Same as
damaskeening , 2. - noun Wavy lines shown on metal, formed by damaskeening.
- Woven with figures, like damask: used of textile fabrics, usually linen: as, damask table-cloths. See I., 1.
- Of a pink color like that of the damask rose.
- Of, pertaining to, or originating in Damascus: as, the damask plum, rose, steel, violet: see below.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun Damask silk; silk woven with an elaborate pattern of flowers and the like.
- noun Linen so woven that a pattern in produced by the different directions of the thread, without contrast of color.
- noun A heavy woolen or worsted stuff with a pattern woven in the same way as the linen damask; -- made for furniture covering and hangings.
- noun Damask or Damascus steel; also, the peculiar markings or “water” of such steel.
- noun A deep pink or rose color.
- adjective Pertaining to, or originating at, the city of Damascus; resembling the products or manufactures of Damascus.
- adjective Having the color of the damask rose.
- adjective a deep rose-color like that of the damask rose.
- adjective a small dark-colored plum, generally called
damson . - adjective (Bot.) a large, pink, hardy, and very fragrant variety of rose (
Rosa damascena ) from Damascus. - adjective steel of the kind originally made at Damascus, famous for its hardness, and its beautiful texture, ornamented with waving lines; especially, that which is inlaid with damaskeening; -- formerly much valued for sword blades, from its great flexibility and tenacity.
- transitive verb To decorate in a way peculiar to Damascus or attributed to Damascus; particularly: (a) with flowers and rich designs, as silk; (b) with inlaid lines of gold, etc., or with a peculiar marking or “water,” as metal. See
damaskeen .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun An
ornate silk fabric originating from Damascus. - noun A damask rose.
- noun A grayish-pink color, like that of the damask rose.
- adjective Of a grayish-pink color, like that of the damask rose.
- verb To
decorate orweave indamascene patterns
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a fabric of linen or cotton or silk or wool with a reversible pattern woven into it
- noun a table linen made from linen with a damask pattern
- adjective having a woven pattern
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Miu Miu has also revamped its Milan flagship store in damask and rich colors — a change from a more minimalist concrete look — and has redecorated a network of 75 boutiques around the world.
In Bloom: Miu Miu Comes of Age Christina Passariello 2010
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Described as elegant for the time with polished mahogany walls and white satin damask curtains, the 160-foot long New York began shuttling passengers and cargo from New York City to Charleston, South Carolina in 1837.
1846 Shipwreck Yields Southern Gold and Capped Bust Halves : Coin Collecting News 2008
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At first the boy was uneasy and wanted to hurry out of the way, but the salesman only beckoned and smiled, and spread out on the counter a lovely piece of satin damask, as if to tempt him.
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There are numerous silk manufactories in Brussels; and the beautiful linen, called damask, is exported in great quantities.
The World's Fair Anonymous
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In fact -- as the declaration of manly love had been accompanied by an endeavour to salute what the General had called her damask-cheek -- she had slapped the General's own cheek a resounding blow ....
Driftwood Spars The Stories of a Man, a Boy, a Woman, and Certain Other People Who Strangely Met Upon the Sea of Life Percival Christopher Wren 1913
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Colour, pattern, and fibre Let colours and patterns, or the weave of fabric such as damask, guide your choice, but bear in mind practical factors also
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There were dozens of them of every hue, from that deep crimson damask which is almost black, to the purest white, fresh gathered from the trees apparently, with the dew still glistening on their perfumed petals and on the polished surface of the leaves.
The Heavenly Twins Madame Sarah Grand
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The old "maiden's blush," too rare now in our bedding plant gardens, the velvety "damask," the wee Scotch roses, the prolific white, and the curious "York and Lancaster," with monster moss-rose trees, hung over the carriage road.
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Carrara marble inlaid with verd-antique, in a kind of damask pattern; over the pulpit it fell like drapery, so easy, so graceful, so exquisitely imitated, that I was obliged to touch it to assure myself of the material.
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The cloth that covered the table was of that peculiar kind of damask linen invented in the time of Henry IV. by the brothers Graindorge, the skilful weavers, who gave their name to the heavy fabric so well known to housekeepers.
The Country Doctor Honor�� de Balzac 1824
chained_bear commented on the word damask
A rich fabric woven with elaborate raised designs and figures of the same color as the background. Originally applied only to silks, or to items from the city of Damascus, the term is now applied to any single-colored, two-sided fabric woven with raised designs. See also brocade.
February 6, 2007