fret2+ (fret)

t. [ Chaucer, Good Women, 1. 1115. Alle hir fyue fyngres weore frettet with rynges, Of the precious est perre that prince wered euere. Piers Plowman (A), ii. 11. In a long purple pall, whose skirt with gold Was fretted all about, she was arayd. Spenser, F. Q., II. ix. 37. fret2+ (fret), n. [ME. fret; A fret of golde she hadde next her heer. Chaucer , Good Women, 1. 215. fret3 (fret), n . [OF. frete , f., an iron band, a ferrule, frete , frette , f., a lozenge, pl. frettes , a grating (> Sp. fretes , frets, in heraldry) (cf. fret , n., a hoop, collectively cro -bars, twigs for making baskets, cages, etc.), appar. syncopated from * ferrette , n., It. ferrata , ferriata , the iron grating of a window, an iron railing, fer- rata , an iron grating, ferrare (F. ferrer = It. ferrare ), bind with iron, ferrum , ferrous ), ferrum , iron: see ferrous , farrier . Cf. fret2.] 1. A piece pie of in- terlaced or perforated ornamental work. About the sides shall run a fret Of primroses. Drayton, Muses' Elysium, ii. The hook she bears Of thine own carving, where your names are set, Wrought underneath with many a curious fret . 2. A kind of ornament much employed in Grecian art and in sundry modifications common in various other styles. It Fletcher, Faithful Shepherde , iv. 1. Greek Frets. is formed of bands or fillets various- ly combined, fre- quently consist- ing of continuous lines arranged in rectangular forms. Sometimes called key ornament. a, from the Par the non, above cella frieze; b, from vases. Beautiful works and orders, like the frets in the roofs of houses. Bacon, Advancement of Learning, ii. 228. 3. In her ., a charge consisting of two bendlets placed in saltier and interlaced with a mascle. Also called true - lover's knot and Har IMG:content-1844.png:[blocks in formation] fret mond-shaped figures. It is usual in the earlier medieval architecture. Fret couped, in her., a bearing similar to a fret, having the ends of the bendlets cut off so as not to reach the edges of the escutcheon. - Fret fretted, in her., a fret of which the mascle has each of its corners extended to form a loop or lozenge. Labyrinth fret, in arch., a fret with many involved turnings.- Lozenge fret, an ornament used in Romanesque architecture, presenting an appearance of diagonal ribs inclosing lozenge or diamond-shaped panels. See diamond fret.-Per fret, in her., divided by diagonal lines in the direction of the lines of the fret that is, both saltier wise and lozenge wise: said of the field. Triangular fret, a dovetail-molding, fret3 (fret), v. t.; pret. and pp. fretted, ppr. fret ting. [OF. fretter, freter, cro , interlace; from the noun.] 1. To ornament with or as if with frets. We went through the long gallery, pav'd wth white & black marble, richly fretted and paynted a fresca. Evelyn, Diary, Feb. 8, 1644. They were of gold and silver, and were fretted like the west window of the Chanry Kirk. Illustrations of Northern Antiquities , quoted in Child's [Ballads, L. 249. Long fellow , Hyper i on, iii. 2376 The kindred souls of every land (Howe'er divided in the fretful days Of prejudice and errour) mingled now In one selected never jarring state. Thomson, Memory of Lord Talbot. The new-born infant's fretful wail. William Morris, Earthly Paradise, I. 395. Syn. 3. Peerish , Pettish , etc. (see petulant ); irritable, complaining, querulous. fretfully (fret' fül-i), adv . In a fretful manner; peevishly; complainingly. fretfulne (fret'fül-nes), n. The state or character of being fretful; peevishne ; ill humor; disposition to fret and complain; irritability. Fretfulne of temper, too, will generally characterise those who are negligent of order. H. Blair , Works, II. 1. fretiset, v. t. [ fret3 + -ise.] Same as fret3 . Again, if it be in a great hall, then (beholding) of the fair embowed or vawted roofs, or of the fretised seelings curiously wrought and sumptuously set forth. North, tr. of Plutarch, p. 38. with silver threads. 2. To make a fret of. [Rare.] Ye hills, whose foliage, fretted on the skies, Prints shadowy arches on their evening dyes. O. W. Holmes, Poetry.