herringbone pattern
1
5.6
- noun
- /ˈhɛrɪŋboʊn ˈpætərn/
:
patrón de espiga
- As the background, I selected rockets being fired, but when you first looked at the picture, it seemed to be just nice abstract shades of red and yellow in a sort of herringbone pattern.
Examples
-
Sweeping cellular fascicles, herringbone pattern, and a more parallel arrangement of the collagen fibers are differentiating features of the rare fibromatosis and fibrosarcoma.
Academic text (1996) -
Mrs. Harper herself wore sharp-toed high heels, which she kept planted on the rug in a herringbone pattern to show off her trim ankles.
Fiction book (1995) -
With the remaining pieces, she planned to build a complex overbraid, lapping and weaving in a herringbone pattern like a favorite raffia basket of hers.
Fiction book (1997) -
The histologic appearance of these tumors can vary considerably, but most masses are made up primarily of a monomorphic population of small spindle cells that are usually arranged in fascicles in a herringbone pattern.
Academic text (2006) -
Along the right and left sides of the middle ridges often appear depictions of cowrie shells, individually or in small clusters, over a background comb-stippled in a herringbone pattern (FIG. 25).
Academic text (2007) -
The terrace was made of worn bricks in a herringbone pattern, creating a beautiful and timeless look.
-
Ordinary subway tiles become extraordinary when arranged in a herringbone pattern for the backsplash.
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Below: tile laid in a herringbone pattern sets off one wall in the master bath.
Synonyms
192
2.8
A repeated design like shapes or flowers on cloth
3
6.3
A V-shaped design used on cloth or wooden floors
How Complex
15
5.6
25
6.0
1
5.6
- Specialized
1
5.0
9
1.0
- Specialized
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is a straightforward modifier+noun combination: 'herringbone' (a V-shaped design) + 'pattern' (a repeated visual design), so a learner who knows both constituent meanings can compose them to understand 'a pattern in the herringbone style.' This descriptive, referential formation follows regular compounding patterns and is therefore transparent to B1 learners who know the parts.
Etymology
Herringbone pattern comes from the words herring and bone, because the design looks like the bones of a herring fish: short slanted pieces meet to make a repeating 'zigzag'. That's why we call fabrics, floors and walls with that V-shaped layout a herringbone pattern.