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
2a : ornamental openwork of delicate or intricate designb : a pattern or design resembling such openwork a filigree of frostc : ornamentation, embellishment writings … heavy with late Victorian filigree — Jack Beatty

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Examples of filigree in a Sentence

a surface decorated with filigree and pearls

Recent Examples of filigree from the Web

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
What the films provide, as compensation, is a banquet of the decent and the sumptuous, where filigrees of gold float through the air and land on the silk of a dress.

— adam davidson, The New Yorker, "“Beauty and the Beast” and “T2 Trainspotting”", 27 Mar. 2017
The NEA was created in 1965 as a filigree on the Great Society.

— george will, Twin Cities, "George Will: The NEA is a government frill that should be shorn", 16 Mar. 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.