inwrought
Americanadjective
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worked in or closely combined with something.
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wrought or worked with something by way of decoration.
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Archaic. wrought or worked in, as a decorative pattern.
adjective
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worked or woven into material, esp decoratively
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rare blended with other things
Etymology
Origin of inwrought
Explanation
Inwrought is an archaic and literary adjective that describes decoration woven or worked into fabric, stonework, metalwork or other material. To understand inwrought, imagine goblets encrusted or inwrought with jewels, and garments inwrought with silver and gold. If inwrought makes you think of a Tolkein-esque fantasy world where magically empowered swords are wrought on Elven fires, good. Inwrought comes from the Middle English word for "work or make," and should conjure the early English history Tolkein drew on for inspiration. If the Middle English associations are leaving you cold, just remember inwrought by remembering the relationship between wrought, meaning "worked or made," and wright, which means "maker," as in a playwright, or "a maker of plays." Pretty soon inwrought's meaning will be inwrought into the fabric of your brain.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A search for some identity that came with more inwrought despondence than he could manufacture out of his own gene pool?
From Salon • Apr. 18, 2011
This massive sturdiness of Lincoln's statesmanship, this unalterable political reliability lay inwrought in the hardy fiber of his moral character.
From Abraham Lincoln's Cardinal Traits; A Study in Ethics, with an Epilogue Addressed to Theologians by Beardslee, Clark S.
This beautiful hanging was of fine white linen, but the original fabric was hardly discernible amid the gorgeous tracery with which it was inwrought.
From The Art of Needle-work, from the Earliest Ages, 3rd ed. Including Some Notices of the Ancient Historical Tapestries by Menzies, Sutherland, fl. 1840-1883
A coronet, or crown, of gold thread, is inwrought with pearls; the roses at the corners are in red silk and gold; and there is a narrow border round the whole in burnished gold thread.
From The Art of Needle-work, from the Earliest Ages, 3rd ed. Including Some Notices of the Ancient Historical Tapestries by Menzies, Sutherland, fl. 1840-1883
Inworn, in-wōrn′, adj. worn or worked into, inwrought.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
