frieze
pronunciation
How to pronounce frieze in British English:
UK [fri:z]
How to pronounce frieze in American English:
US [friz]
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- Noun:
- an architectural ornament consisting of a horizontal sculptured band between the architrave and the cornice
- a heavy woolen fabric with a long nap
Word Origin
- frieze
- frieze: [16] Phrygia, in western and central Asia Minor, was noted in ancient times for its embroidery. Hence classical Latin Phrygium ‘of Phrygia’ was pressed into service in medieval Latin (as frigium, or later frisium) for ‘embroidered cloth’. English acquired the word via Old French frise, by which time it had progressed semantically via ‘fringe’ to ‘decorative band along the top of a wall’.
- frieze (n.1)
- "sculptured horizontal band in architecture," 1560s, from Middle French frise, originally "a ruff," from Medieval Latin frisium "embroidered border," variant of frigium, which is probably from Latin Phrygium "Phrygian; Phrygian work," from Phrygia, the ancient country in Asia Minor known for its embroidery (Latin also had Phrygiae vestes "ornate garments"). Meaning "decorative band along the top of a wall" was in Old French.
- frieze (n.2)
- type of coarse woolen cloth with a nap on one side, late 14c., from Old French frise, probably ultimately from a German or Dutch word meaning "to curl" and related to frizzle.
Example
- 1. Next week , the london contemporary art fair frieze opens .
- 2. The corinthian painter 's primary ornamental device was the animal frieze .
- 3. The most interesting ornamentation is found on a frieze and an arch-stone .
- 4. There is a carved marble frieze all around the walls of the temple .
- 5. Next month 's influential frieze art fair in london should signal whether the rising tide of economic recovery is lifting prices and volumes in the art market .