filigree

1 of 2

noun

fil·​i·​gree ˈfi-lə-ˌgrē 

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

Illustration of filigree

• filigree 2a

filigree

2 of 2

verb

filigreed; filigreeing

transitive verb

: to adorn with or as if with filigree

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.

Examples of filigree in a Sentence

Noun

a surface decorated with filigree and pearls

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Locals call their hometown the Venice of the Amazon, because of its filigree of waterways and the fleet of boats that ply them. —Mac Margolis, NPR, 12 May 2024

There were filigrees of wildflowers, mysterious little tuna-belly creatures with mustard-seed eyes and microgreen antennae, and something that looked like a slice of black truffle but melted like butter. —Pete Wells, New York Times, 27 Feb. 2024

Verb

Two years and much ado later, Raghda serves lattes filigreed with milk art at a strip-mall coffee shop and Rafaa hosts community gatherings at an event space across the way. —Vivian Yee, New York Times, 14 Mar. 2020

Another helpful move was using what Bugatti calls filigree side view mirrors, which let air pass through them. —Alex Davies, WIRED, 19 Aug. 2019

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

modification of French filigrane, from Italian filigrana, from Latin filum + granum grain — more at corn

First Known Use

Noun

1693, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1831, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

filigree

noun

fil·​i·​gree

ˈfil-ə-ˌgrē

1

: ornamental work especially of fine wire applied chiefly to gold and silver surfaces

2

a

: ornamental work of delicate or complicated design done so as to show openings through the material

b

: a pattern or design resembling such work