Adjacent Words

Imbricate definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

IM'BRICATE
IM'BRICATED, a. [L. imbricatus, imbrico, from imbrex, a tile.]
1. Bent and hollowed like a roof or gutter tile.
2. In botany, lying over each other, like tiles on roof; parallel, with a strait surface, and lying one over the other; as leaves in the bud.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: used especially of leaves or bracts; overlapping or layered as scales or shingles [syn: imbricate, imbricated] v
1: place so as to overlap; "imbricate the roof tiles"
2: overlap; "The roof tiles imbricate"

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Late Latin imbricatus, past participle of imbricare to cover with pantiles, from Latin imbric-, imbrex pantile, from imbr-, imber rain; akin to Greek ombros rain Date: circa 1610 lying lapped over each other in regular order <imbricate scales> II. transitive verb (-cated; -cating) Date: 1784 overlap; especially to overlap like roof tiles

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & adj. --v.tr. & intr. arrange (leaves, the scales of a fish, etc.), or be arranged, so as to overlap like roof-tiles. --adj. having scales etc. arranged in this way. Derivatives: imbrication n. Etymology: L imbricare imbricat- cover with rain-tiles f. imbrex -icis rain-tile f. imber shower

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Imbricate Im"bri*cate, Imbricated Im"bri*ca`ted, a. [L. imbricatus, p. p. of imbricare to cover with tiles, to form like a gutter tile, fr. imbrex, -icis, a hollow tile, gutter tile, fr. imber rain.] 1. Bent and hollowed like a roof or gutter tile. 2. Lying over each other in regular order, so as to ``break joints,'' like tiles or shingles on a roof, the scales on the leaf buds of plants and the cups of some acorns, or the scales of fishes; overlapping each other at the margins, as leaves in [ae]stivation. 3. In decorative art: Having scales lapping one over the other, or a representation of such scales; as, an imbricated surface; an imbricated pattern.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Imbricate Im"bri*cate, v. t. To lay in order, one lapping over another, so as to form an imbricated surface.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a.; (also imbricated) (Bot.) Overlapping.