Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Ornamental or structural work, as of embroidery or metal, having many openings, usually in set patterns.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Any work, especially ornamental work, so made or manufactured as to show openings through its substance; specifically, fancy work done with thread of different kinds, such as knitting, netting, lace, and many kinds of embroidery; decoration of the simplest sort made with small openings set in regular patterns.
- noun In fortification, a work or fortification which is not protected at the gorge by a parapet or otherwise.
- noun In mining, a place where mining or quarrying is done open to the air, or uncovered by rock or earth. Also called
open working and open-cast.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun Anything so constructed or manufactured (in needlework, carpentry, metal work, etc.) as to show openings through its substance; work that is perforated or pierced.
- noun (Mining) A quarry; an open cut.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Any of several forms of
metalwork orneedlework havingdecorative openings - noun mining A
quarry ; an open cut.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun ornamental work (such as embroidery or latticework) having a pattern of openings
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Christy, it looks like she did just that -- the full-length skirt was some kind of openwork, either knitted or crocheted you can pretty much do anything with knitting that you can with crochet, although some things are lot more difficult to accomplish.
"Guy coughs up rusty, 30-year-old nail/Strangers dress guy suitably for his job/Teen knits duct-tape prom dress." Ann Althouse 2009
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They had blackened faces and hands and were holding up, as if to display it, a kind of openwork frame built up from short swords.
Death of a Fool Marsh, Ngaio, 1895-1982 1956
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Her sleeves came a little below the elbow, and both wore black silk "openwork" mitts that came half-way up the arm.
A Little Girl in Old New York Amanda Minnie Douglas 1873
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-- Our illustration shows a third kind of openwork ground with one corner in damask stitch, of the square represented in fig. 105.
Encyclopedia of Needlework Th��r��se de Dillmont 1868
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The outdoor collection ILLU offers an openwork shelter in natural oak, from French forests.
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Who made that openwork aluminum outdoor bench and chair set sitting outside the Reclaimed Space house?
Dwell on Design Features More Brilliant Green Design Than Ever | Inhabitat 2009
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At the time I guessed that the elegant, openwork frame was rather special, and in all probability “original,” meaning that the finished canvas had probably never been housed differently.
Archive 2009-08-01 2009
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At the time I guessed that the elegant, openwork frame was rather special, and in all probability “original,” meaning that the finished canvas had probably never been housed differently.
Serendipity 2009
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It is shaped of metal openwork, so that one can see into and through every facet of the figure.
Rabbi Arthur Waskow: Modern Prophet: An Interview with Tony Kushner Rabbi Arthur Waskow 2010
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In San Felipe de los Herreros are the finest examples of openwork dresses and blouses, also found in Zacán, Tócuaro and Erongarícuaro.
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