Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun An ornamental border formed of two or more curved bands that interlace to repeat a circular design.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To decorate with intersecting curved lines, or with any pattern composed of curved lines.
- noun An ornamental pattern composed of intersecting curved lines, as the usual decoration of watch-cases; in architecture, an ornament in the form of two or more bands or ribbons interlacing or braided or twisted over each other so as to repeat the same figure in a continued series of spirals. The term is applied, but improperly, to a fret.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Arch.) An ornament in the form of two or more bands or strings twisted over each other in a continued series, leaving circular openings which are filled with round ornaments.
- noun In ornamental art, any pattern made by interlacing curved lines.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A fine engraving pattern of spirals, intertwining bands, etc.; or the tool used to create such work.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun an architectural decoration formed by two intersecting wavy bands
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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A Bright Idea guilloche Caldwell says he's one of few artisans who know a special technique called guilloche, which scrapes reflective indentations into his metal pieces to create a radiating shine.
Week in Words Erin McKean 2011
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An ornament known as the guilloche is found in many countries.
Origin and Development of Form and Ornament in Ceramic Art. Fourth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1882-1883, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1886, pages 437-466. William Henry Holmes 1889
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This practice is called guilloche, and probably best done by the Germans today.
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The birds are depicted using three different enameling processes and guilloche, a delicate method of engraving watch dials.
Weird, Wild Watches Michael Clerizo 2011
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Peter Carl Fabergé designer Mikhail Perkhin, workmaster Imperial Blue Serpent Egg Gold, blue guilloche enamel, opalescent white enamel, diamonds, sapphires
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In addition, the floor was paved with a nice mosaic "carpet" in black, white, purple, and orange, representing central guilloche motifs, bordered by bead-and-reels that were lined by chevrons.
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It possessed a broad edge consisting of diagonal lines in these six colors, colorful meanders lined with black and white tesserae and a guilloche motif (combinations of purple-white, yellow-white, red-orange-white) on a dark background.
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Among the few in colour, a preliminary mock-up had a fabulous complex guilloche of intertwining threads, which formed a centre roundel.
A Body In The Bath House Davis, Lindsey 2001
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Speaking generally, the design is formed by nine octagon figures, three by three, surrounded and divided by a guilloche cable band; the interspaces of the octagons are filled by four smaller square patterns, and the outer octagon spaces by 12 triangles.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 514, November 7, 1885 Various
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The sort of guilloche of interlacing circles was very generally used.
strev commented on the word guilloche
unlike the guillotine which has an intersecting sharpish edge that undoes forms when it it put to task
June 16, 2009
chained_bear commented on the word guilloche
Also seen in this nifty article.
November 16, 2010
reesetee commented on the word guilloche
That is nifty. Thanks, c_b.
November 21, 2010
qms commented on the word guilloche
This house was once classy, by gosh,
The walls with proud details awash.
Some long-ago master
Of decorative plaster
Had spun out a web of guilloche.
July 19, 2017