filigree

[ fil-i-gree ]
See synonyms for filigree on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. delicate ornamental work of fine silver, gold, or other metal wires, especially lacy jewelers' work of scrolls and arabesques.

  2. anything very delicate or fanciful: a filigree of frost.

adjective
  1. composed of or resembling filigree.

verb (used with object),fil·i·greed, fil·i·gree·ing.
  1. to adorn with or form into filigree.

Origin of filigree

1
First recorded in 1685–95; earlier filigreen, variant of filigrain
  • Rarely fil·a·gree, fil·la·gree [fil-uh-gree] /ˈfɪl əˌgri/ .

Words Nearby filigree

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How to use filigree in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for filigree

filigree

filagree or fillagree

/ (ˈfɪlɪˌɡriː) /


noun
  1. delicate ornamental work of twisted gold, silver, or other wire

  2. any fanciful delicate ornamentation

adjective
  1. made of or as if with filigree

verb-grees, -greeing or -greed
  1. (tr) to decorate with or as if with filigree

Origin of filigree

1
C17: from earlier filigreen, from French filigrane, from Latin fīlum thread + grānum grain

Derived forms of filigree

  • filigreed, adjective

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