filigree

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noun fil·i·gree \ ˈfi-lə-ˌgrē \

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

Other treasures included an 18th-century German piano, porcelain vases from China and Japan, mirrors and boxes with intricate gold filigree work and ceiling murals depicting Portuguese explorer Vasco De Gama’s journey to India by sea.

— Washington Post, "Aged Portuguese mansion a window into India colonial history," 17 July 2017
Other treasures included an 18th-century German piano, porcelain vases from China and Japan, mirrors and boxes with intricate gold filigree work and ceiling murals depicting Portuguese explorer Vasco De Gama’s journey to India by sea.

— Washington Post, "Aged Portuguese mansion a window into India colonial history," 17 July 2017
Other treasures included an 18th-century German piano, porcelain vases from China and Japan, mirrors and boxes with intricate gold filigree work and ceiling murals depicting Portuguese explorer Vasco De Gama’s journey to India by sea.

— vineeta deepak, The Seattle Times, "Aged Portuguese mansion an oasis of calm in chaotic India," 16 July 2017
There were lots of medieval velvet, gold filigree, and fur stoles in this collection, but Look 48 was powerful in a softer way.

— emily farra, Vogue, "This Elie Saab Couture Gown Has 20,000 Hand-Placed Embellishments," 6 July 2017
Period details are everywhere: polished silver filigree along the walls, a baby grand piano, cast iron railing in the open-sided observation car to lean over and catch the Andean breeze.

— aaron millar, CNN, "Peru's Andean Explorer: A luxury train journey on the roof of the world," 1 June 2017
The door still had its metal filigree gate and marble steps.

— robert f. worth, New York Times, "Aleppo After the Fall," 24 May 2017
Maybe, just maybe, Norman’s ability to create an intricate filigree of favors and obligation makes him not a man on the make but an unintentional saint, engaged in the sacred task of repairing a broken world.

— kenneth turan, The Mercury News, "In ‘Norman,’ Richard Gere gives exceptional performance as NYC operator," 25 Apr. 2017
The eight-movement suite was a wonderful study in contrasts, from the magisterial Sarabande to the aggressive, quicksilver filigree of the final Gigue.

— paul hodgins, Orange County Register, "Pianist Murray Perahia proves his mastery in rare O.C. visit," 22 Apr. 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

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