herringbone definitions

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a twilled fabric with a herringbone pattern
2: a pattern of columns of short parallel lines with all the lines in one column sloping one way and lines in adjacent columns sloping the other way; it is used in weaving, masonry, parquetry, embroidery [syn: herringbone, herringbone pattern]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Usage: often attributive Date: 1659 1. a pattern made up of rows of parallel lines which in any two adjacent rows slope in opposite directions 2. a. a twilled fabric with a herringbone pattern; also a suit made of this fabric b. a herringbone arrangement (as of materials or parts) 3. a method in skiing of ascending a slope by herringboning II. verb Date: 1787 transitive verb 1. to produce a herringbone pattern on 2. to arrange in a herringbone pattern intransitive verb 1. to produce a herringbone pattern 2. to ascend a slope by toeing out on skis and placing the weight on the inner side

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Herringbone Her"ring*bone` (h[e^]r"r[i^]ng*b[=o]n`), a. Pertaining to, or like, the spine of a herring; especially, characterized by an arrangement of work in rows of parallel lines, which in the alternate rows slope in different directions. Herringbone stitch, a kind of cross-stitch in needlework, chiefly used in flannel. --Simmonds.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Herringbone is a pattern used in fabrics or brickwork which looks like parallel rows of zigzag lines. N-UNCOUNT: oft N n