# frieze

Pronunciation: say "FREEZ" /ˈfɹiz/

## Noun

1. Any band of sculpture or rich decoration running along part of a building or an elaborate piece of furniture.
   - Simple: A decorated strip that runs along the top of a wall or a piece of furniture.
   - _Workers restored the carved frieze that wraps around the museum's main hall._
   - _A gilded frieze decorated the upper edge of the grand wardrobe._
2. The part of a classical entablature between the architrave and cornice, a flat band sometimes broken by triglyphs and often carved with figures and other ornaments.
   - Simple: A wide flat band high on a classical building, between the beam below and the top edge above.
   - _The temple's frieze, set between architrave and cornice, was carved with scenes of battle._
   - _Restorers cleaned the marble frieze that ran around the building above its columns._
3. A banner bearing a connected series of pictures.
   - Simple: A long banner that shows a row of pictures, often telling a story.
   - _The teacher pinned up a frieze that told the whole story in pictures._
   - _A long frieze of hand-drawn scenes decorated the school hallway._
4. A coarse woolen cloth with a shaggy or tufted nap raised on one side.
   - Simple: A rough, heavy wool cloth with a thick, fuzzy surface on one side.
   - _The old greatcoat was cut from heavy frieze, rough to the touch._
   - _Irish weavers once produced frieze for laborers' jackets._

## Verb

5. To raise a nap on cloth; to frizz it.
   - Simple: To raise a soft, fuzzy surface on cloth.
   - _Finishers frieze the heavy wool to raise its shaggy surface._
   - _The old mill no longer friezes its blankets, so they now come off the loom smooth on both sides._
6. To furnish a building or wall with a decorative band along its upper part.
   - Simple: To add a decorated band along the top of a wall or building.
   - _The architects chose to frieze the gallery with a band of marble reliefs._
   - _Workers frieze the chamber walls with painted scenes._

## Origin

**Meanings 4–5** — This word entered English in the late Middle English period from French 'frise'. It probably comes from Medieval Latin 'Frisia' ("Frisian wool"), because the material was imported via northern ships, though it may instead come from French 'friser' ("to curl").
**Meanings 1–3, 6** — From French and Middle French 'frise', derived from an Upper Italian 'fris' and Medieval Latin forms such as 'frisum' and 'frigium'. Its origin is controversial and possibly multiple, perhaps from Arabic 'ʔifrīz' ("king beam, cornice") or Latin 'opus Phrygium' ("work of Phrygia", a kind of embroidery), as well as the demonym Frisian and related textile terms.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/frieze (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).