Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A heavy fabric interwoven with a rich, raised design.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To weave with a pattern in relief, for the ornamentation and enrichment of the fabric.
- noun A silken fabric variegated with gold and silver, or having raised flowers, foliage, and other ornaments: also applied to other stuffs wrought and enriched in like manner.
- noun A kind of bronze-powder used for decorating.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun Silk stuff, woven with gold and silver threads, or ornamented with raised flowers, foliage, etc.; -- also applied to other stuffs thus wrought and enriched.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun countable, uncountable A thick heavy
fabric into which raised patterns have beenwoven . - noun An item decorated with brocade.
- verb To decorate fabric with raised woven patterns.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb weave a design into (textiles)
- noun thick heavy expensive material with a raised pattern
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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At a time when the market was full of what she called "brocade and chintz with cabbage roses," Florence introduced a style of her own influenced by the modernism of the Bauhaus school, and the hand-woven fabrics and prints she commissioned were clean and sophisticated, with few frills.
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He is a gentleman, affable, well dressed in Chinese brocade, and less unresponsive than are most Chinese; it was indeed a pleasure to be "conducted" by him.
Travels in the Far East Ellen Mary Hayes Peck
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His wife rustled by his side in brocade which might almost stand alone for stiffness, propped upon heels that gave a majestic altitude to her tall, thin figure.
Oldtown Folks 1869
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Quite a few collections really translated it in the idea of brocade: French tapestries, French wall coverings, French fabrics, he says.
From Reel To Runway 2006
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In Autumn the leaves of the tree become purple or red, and they are so pretty that people call them "mountain brocade."
Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan b. 974? Murasaki Shikibu Izumi Shikibu 1920
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History served as a kind of brocade curtain, against which ordinary people (for the most part) strutted their stuff.
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History served as a kind of brocade curtain, against which ordinary people (for the most part) strutted their stuff.
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Wrap a turd in any kind of brocade and you still have-a turd.
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The other three were nearly as lavish as the first, being made of "brocade," blue cloth of gold, and crimson velvet.
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On one channel, someone was saying he'd consulted "the makeup ladies" and they said Michelle's dress was "brocade" so they were going with that.
The sun rises on the Obama presidency... in Washington... here, from my outpost in Madison, Wisconsin, I'm live-blogging. Ann Althouse 2009
chained_bear commented on the word brocade
A woven fabric, usually of silk, with raised designs formed by colored threads; or any one-sided fabric with raised designs. See also damask.
February 6, 2007