filigree

noun fil·i·gree \ ˈfi-lə-ˌgrē \

Updated on: 3 Apr 2018

Definition of filigree

1 : ornamental work especially of fine wire of gold, silver, or copper applied chiefly to gold and silver surfaces

a headband decorated with silver filigree

2 a : ornamental openwork of delicate or intricate design

b : a pattern or design resembling such openwork

a filigree of frost

c : ornamentation, embellishment

writings … heavy with late Victorian filigree
—Jack Beatty

See filigree defined for English-language learners

See filigree defined for kids

Examples of filigree in a Sentence

a surface decorated with filigree and pearls

Recent Examples of filigree from the Web

When the main square was forcibly re-christened Adolf Hitler-Platz during the war, SS officers took over this art nouveau cafe, and its faded opulence, all red velvet and Slavic filigree, still felt haunted.

— dale hrabi, WSJ, "An Absurdly Inexpensive European Holiday: The Luxury of Krakow," 29 Mar. 2018
Other newfound TNOs move in a telltale filigree of orbital resonances, periodically perturbing one another in a web of complex patterns that hint at further interactions with some great, unseen mass.

— lee billings, Scientific American, "Looking for Planet Nine, Astronomers Gaze into the Abyss," 22 Mar. 2018
This embellished filigree, dotted with crystal lochrosen and margarita rhinestones, also adorned the neckline and hem.

— sue strachan, NOLA.com, "Krewe of Mystery's Rose Ball visits Casablanca," 25 Feb. 2018
Gomez is endlessly adaptable, pleading next to watt's delicate filigree and smearing long exhales on top of Marshmello's beat.

— billboard staff, Billboard, "Billboard's 50 Best Dance/Electronic Songs of 2017: Critics' Picks," 15 Dec. 2017
Drummer Brandon’s tempo shifts from blistering punk to convincingly heavy doom, and guitarist Rorik is as comfortable with atmospheric filigree as with frantic death-metal stomp.

— noah berlatsky, Chicago Reader, "Cloud Rat’s grind punk is versatile, pissed-off, and heavy," 15 Dec. 2017
It’s here that the vibe relaxes and the picture’s filigree becomes brighter and wittier as extras with puffball hairdos straight out of Dr. Seuss light up the background.

— manohla dargis, New York Times, "Review: ‘Thor: Ragnarok,’ of Gods, Monsters and Silly Jokes," 1 Nov. 2017
The camera zooms in on spooky models, wearing skull makeup and what looks like face filigree.

— rachel nussbaum, Glamour, "Bella Hadid Filmed the Most Bella Hadid Halloween Makeup Tutorial," 27 Oct. 2017
Despite the pampering and filigree, the E400 makes a power statement.

— mark maynard, sandiegouniontribune.com, "2018 Mercedes-Benz E400 Coupe: a charmed life," 27 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'filigree.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Ornamental work formerly made with grains or beads is called filigree. It comes from an Italian word made from the Latin words for thread and grain. Today filigree is usually of fine wire of gold, silver, or copper, and is used chiefly to decorate gold and silver surfaces. Filigree can also apply to any ornamental openwork of delicate or intricate design or to a pattern or design resembling such openwork.

Illustration of filigree

Origin and Etymology of filigree

modification of French filigrane, from Italian filigrana, from Latin filum + granum grain — more at corn

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1693

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

Other Handicraft Terms

biscuit, darn, tambour, wrought

filigree

verb

Definition of filigree

filigreed; filigreeing

transitive verb

: to adorn with or as if with filigree

Recent Examples of filigree from the Web

The Mulsanne is a large luxury superliner of Bentley refinement and filigree that work flawlessly as luxurious separators from the competition, mainly the Rolls-Royce Phantom and Mercedes-Maybach S600.

— mark maynard, sandiegouniontribune.com, "2017 Bentley Mulsanne: A battle hymn of tradition and stoic provenance," 11 Aug. 2017
St. Petersburg is a museum city, its gold-filigreed heart pulsing with tsarist palaces, Baroque churches, and Art Nouveau mansions.

— sophie pinkham, New Republic, "How a Russian Street Art Museum Defies Kremlin Censors," 3 July 2017