herringbone

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See also: herring-bone

English

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Bricks arranged in a herringbone pattern
Herringbone fabric

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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herring +‎ bone

Pronunciation

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Noun

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herringbone (countable and uncountable, plural herringbones)

  1. (countable) A bone of a herring.
    • 1884, Samuel Smiles, Men of Invention and Industry:
      The prosperity of Amsterdam was then so great that it was said that Amsterdam was "founded on herring-bones."
  2. A zigzag pattern, especially made by bricks, on a cloth, or by stitches in sewing.
    • 1861, Charlotte Yonge, The Young Step-Mother:
      'The best path of life is but a herring-bone pattern.'
    • 1922 February, James Joyce, Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, [], →OCLC:
      Mr Bloom walked behind the eyeless feet, a flatcut suit of herringbone tweed.
  3. (countable, skiing) A method of climbing a hill by pointing the skis outward in a V-shape to keep from sliding backwards.
  4. Twilled fabric woven in rows of parallel sloping lines.
    • 1963, Men's Wear, volume 147, page 39:
      For some strange and elusive reason, the staid, prosaic herringbones have angled themselves into a position of fashion prominence.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Verb

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herringbone (third-person singular simple present herringbones, present participle herringboning, simple past and past participle herringboned)

  1. To stitch in a herringbone pattern.
  2. (skiing) To climb a hill by pointing the skis outward in a V-shape to keep from sliding backwards.

Derived terms

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