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frieze

 - 9 dictionary results
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frieze

1  [freez]
Use frieze in a Sentence
–noun
1. Architecture.
a. the part of a classical entablature between the architrave and the cornice, usually decorated with sculpture in low relief.
b. any decorative band on an outside wall, broader than a stringcourse and bearing lettering, sculpture, etc.
2. any decorative band at the top or beneath the cornice of an interior wall, a piece of furniture, etc.
3. Furniture. skirt (def. 6b).
Origin:
1555–65; < MF frise, perh. < ML phrygium, frigium, frisium embroidered cloth, embroidery, L Phrygium, neut. of Phrygius Phrygian
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frieze

2  [freez]
–noun
a heavy, napped woolen cloth for coats.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME frise < OF; see frieze 1

skirt

  [skurt]
–noun
1. the part of a gown, dress, slip, or coat that extends downward from the waist.
2. a one-piece garment extending downward from the waist and not joined between the legs, worn esp. by women and girls.
3. some part resembling or suggesting the skirt of a garment, as the flared lip of a bell or a protective and ornamental cloth strip covering the legs of furniture.
4. a small leather flap on each side of a saddle, covering the metal bar from which the stirrup hangs.
5. Building Trades.
a. baseboard (def. 1).
b. apron (def. 13).
6. Also called apron. Furniture.
a. a flat horizontal brace set immediately beneath the seat of a chair, chest of drawers, or the like, to strengthen the legs.
b. Also called bed, frieze. a flat brace or support immediately beneath a tabletop.
7. Usually, skirts. the bordering, marginal, or outlying part of a place, group, etc.; the outskirts.
8. Slang: Disparaging and Offensive. a woman or girl.
9. Rocketry. an outer part of a rocket or missile that provides structural support or houses such systems as avionics or gyroscopes.
–verb (used with object)
10. to lie on or along the border of: The hills skirt the town.
11. to border, wrap, or cover with a skirt or something suggesting a skirt in appearance or function.
12. to pass along or around the border or edge of: Traffic skirts the town.
13. to avoid, go around the edge of, or keep distant from (something that is controversial, risky, etc.): The senator skirted the issue.
14. to remove low-grade wool and foreign matter from (the outer edge of fleece).
–verb (used without object)
15. to be or lie on or along the edge of something.
16. to move along or around the border of something.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME skirte < ON skyrta shirt

Related forms:
skirtless, adjective
skirtlike, adjective

Synonyms:
13. evade, shun, circle, bypass.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To frieze
frieze 1   (frēz)   
n.   Architecture

  1. A plain or decorated horizontal part of an entablature between the architrave and cornice.

  2. A decorative horizontal band, as along the upper part of a wall in a room.


[French frise, from Medieval Latin frisium, frigium, embroidery, from Latin Phrygium (opus), Phrygian (work), from Phrygia.]
frieze 2   (frēz)   
n.   In both senses also called frisé.

  1. A coarse, shaggy woolen cloth with an uncut nap.

  2. A dense, low-pile surface, as in carpeting, resembling such cloth.


[Middle English frise, from Old French, from Medieval Latin (pannī) frīsiī, woolen (garments), from pl. of Frīsius, Frisian.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Cultural Dictionary

frieze [(freez)]

An ornamental band that runs around a building. Friezes are usually on the exterior of a building and are often sculpted in bas-relief.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary
skirt

  1. n.
    a woman. : Some skirt comes up to me and asks where the police station is.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

frieze 
"sculptured horizontal band in architecture," 1563, from M.Fr. frise, originally "a ruff," from M.L. frisium "embroidered border," variant of frigium, probably from L. Phrygium "Phrygian, Phrygian work," from Phrygia, the ancient country in Asia Minor known for its embroidery. Folk etymology is Fr. drap de Frise "cloth of Friesland." Meaning "decorative band along the top of a wall" was in O.Fr.

skirt  (n.)
c.1300, "lower part of a woman's dress," from O.N. skyrta "shirt," see shirt. Sense development from "shirt" to "skirt" is possibly related to the long shirts of peasant garb (cf. Low Ger. cognate Schört, in some dialects "woman's gown"). Sense of "border, edge" (in outskirts, etc.) first recorded 1470, and the verb meaning "to pass along the edge" is from 1623. Metonymic use for "women collectively" is from 1560; slang sense of "young woman" is from 1906; skirt-chaser first attested 1942.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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