lambrequin

[ lam-bri-kin, lam-ber- ]

noun

1. a woven fabric covering for a helmet in medieval times to protect it from heat, rust, etc.
2. a curtain or drapery covering the upper part of an opening, as a door or window, or suspended from a shelf.
3. Heraldry. mantling.
4. a band of decoration near the top of the body of a vase.

lambrequin

/ ˈlæmbə-; ˈlæmbrɪkɪn /

noun

1. an ornamental hanging covering the edge of a shelf or the upper part of a window or door
2. 1. a border pattern giving a draped effect, used on ceramics, etc
   2. ( as modifier )

      a lambrequin pattern

3. often plural a scarf worn over a helmet
4. heraldry another name for mantling

Word History and Origins

Origin of lambrequin¹

1715–25; < French, Middle French < Middle Dutch *lamperken, equivalent to lamper fine translucent cloth + -ken -kin

Word History and Origins

Origin of lambrequin¹

C18: from French, from Dutch lamperkin (unattested), diminutive of lamper veil

Example Sentences

Lambrequin, lam′bre-kin, n. a strip of cloth, leather, &c., hanging from a window, doorway, or mantelpiece, as a drapery: an ornamental covering, as of cloth, attached to a helmet.

From Project Gutenberg

Above these is a mantel, covered with a lambrequin of dingy red crape paper.

From Project Gutenberg

A trooper caught his huge cavalry spurs in the meshes of a lace curtain in one of the parlors and brought down cornice, lambrequin, and all with a crash.

From Project Gutenberg

For $5,000, Noonan finished the dining room with a new rug, a lambrequin over the windows and matching chair cushions, designed a sunny "Florida" solarium adjacent to the newly outfitted family room, and dramatized the guest bathroom with mauve, black and white accents.

From Time Magazine Archive

He bought a suite in golden walnut and velvet, made in 1695, for $12,500; also some 1795 painted Sheraton side-seats the backs of which were covered with petit-point, and a segmental side-table of about 1780, fitted with a carved lambrequin and finished in cream and gold.

From Time Magazine Archive