imbricate

1 of 2

adjective

im·​bri·​cate ˈim-bri-kət How to pronounce imbricate (audio)
: lying lapped over each other in regular order
imbricate scales

imbricate

2 of 2

verb

im·​bri·​cate ˈim-brə-ˌkāt How to pronounce imbricate (audio)
imbricated; imbricating

transitive verb

: overlap
especially : to overlap like roof tiles

Did you know?

The ancient Romans knew how to keep the interior of their villas dry when it rained. They covered their roofs with overlapping curved tiles so the "imber" (Latin for pelting rain or "rain shower") couldn't seep in. The tiles were, in effect, "rain tiles," so the Romans called them "imbrices" (singular "imbrex"). The verb for installing the tiles was "imbricare," and English speakers used its past participle - "imbricatus" - to create "imbricate," which was first used as adjective meaning "overlapping (like roof tiles)" and later became a verb meaning "to overlap."

Examples of imbricate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
But in reality, the poet’s life is also her work, or the two are imbricated in a frightening way. Lauren Kane, The New York Review of Books, 26 Aug. 2023 This prediction rested on two main observations: first, that the military shared strong ideological and social bonds with ZANU-PF party elites dating back to Zimbabwe’s liberation war; and second, that many military leaders were themselves deeply imbricated in ZANU-PF’s powerful patronage system. Philip Martin, Foreign Affairs, 17 Nov. 2017 What matters, the novel reassures us, is constantly imbricated with the everyday, just as alienation and tender care can coexist in the same moment. Matthew Gavin Frank, Harper's Magazine, 21 Feb. 2022 Virtuosity’s sentence-making is thickened, intricate, imbricated, often dazzling. Cynthia Ozick, New York Times, 14 May 2018 But in re-writing those real events, embedding a creative vision of the past in a contemporary fiction, novelists reveal how history is continually imbricated into the texture of our world. Josephine Livingstone, New Republic, 31 May 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'imbricate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Late Latin imbricatus, past participle of imbricare to cover with pantiles, from Latin imbric-, imbrex pantile, from imbr-, imber rain; akin to Greek ombros rain

First Known Use

Adjective

circa 1610, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1784, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of imbricate was circa 1610

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Cite this Entry

“Imbricate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/imbricate. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

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