tracery
1
9.4
- noun
- /ˈtreɪsəri/
- Specialized
:
tracería
- Now sunlight warmed the soft red bricks, over which a tracery of Virginia creeper had begun to climb.
- delicate tracery
- Gothic tracery
- tracery windows
Examples
-
Tall old trees, their outspread limbs just beginning to soften beneath a tracery of pale green blossom.
Fiction book (2002) -
In the growing dark, the bridge seemed to lose its firmness, to become tracery in the sky.
Fiction book (1998) -
Above us, a tracery of green and yellow leaves arrowed to a vanishing point we could never reach.
Fiction book (1994) -
Machine-made, of course, but quite nice, with a floral tracery fading into the pale light outside.
Fiction book (1992) -
In place of its original plaque ornamented with Gothic tracery, Khnopff has depicted a gaping black hole.
Academic text (1992) -
We could see delicate traceries along its massive curving flank, curves and whorls etched into its structure.
Fiction book (1995) -
Its ivory whiteness lent it an abstract quality, like a cameo or a dream; it was marbled with fine bluish traceries.
Fiction book (1998) -
The beautiful stained glass window was decorated with intricate tracery that highlighted its Gothic design.
-
The artist carefully carved tracery into the stone, creating elegant patterns that enhanced the cathedral's grandeur.
-
As she admired the ornate tracery above the altar, she marveled at the craftsmanship of the ancient builders.
Compounds
How Complex
1
8.2
- Specialized
1
9.4
- Specialized
- Specialized
1
9.6
- Specialized
220
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
The word tracery comes from a root that means 'to draw' and is the same root as the common word trace, so you can picture the fine, lacy lines as if someone had 'traced' a design in stone. That's why tracery means the open, decorative stone pattern you see in old church windows.