tracery

[ trey-suh-ree ]

noun

, plural trac·er·ies.

1. ornamental work consisting of ramified ribs, bars, or the like, as in the upper part of a Gothic window, in panels, screens, etc.
2. any delicate, interlacing work of lines, threads, etc., as in carving or embroidery; network.

tracery

/ ˈtreɪsərɪ /

noun

1. a pattern of interlacing ribs, esp as used in the upper part of a Gothic window, etc
2. any fine pattern resembling this

Derived Forms

• ˈtraceried, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of tracery¹

late Middle English word dating back to 1425–75; trace ¹, -ery

Example Sentences

The spots begin to move, and slip-sliding traceries of luminosity explode.

From Los Angeles Times

The masons have now moved on to the North Cloisters, where they will spend the next four years restoring elaborately carved tracery and Purbeck columns, bases and capitals that have split.

From BBC

Yet, his exquisite graphite drawing positions a viewer behind an iron railing decorated with the elegant tracery of the king’s monogram.

From Los Angeles Times

In front of the new hedge, a simple 9-foot arbor, also stained a dark color, supports Clematis armandii, providing an evergreen tracery of foliage that’s smothered with fragrant white blooms in early spring.

From Seattle Times

He painted this complex plane, with its traceries, sculptures, pilasters and sunken portals jutting out and receding, 28 times, after first painting two close-ups of the Tour Saint Romain, one of the two western towers.

From Washington Post

Related Words

• architecture
• arrangement
• composition
• construction
• drawing
• form
• idea
• layout
• map
• method
• model
• pattern
• picture
• plan
• scheme
• study