orphrey

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or·phrey

(ôr′frē) also or·fray (-frā′)

n. pl. or·phreys also or·frays

1. A band of elaborate embroidery decorating the front of certain ecclesiastical vestments.

2. Elaborate embroidery, especially when made of gold.

[Middle English orfrey, alteration of orfreis, from Old French, from Medieval Latin aurifrigium : Latin aurum, gold + Latin Phrygius, Phrygian.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

orphrey

(ˈɔːfrɪ) or less commonly

orfray

(Knitting & Sewing) a richly embroidered band or border, esp on an ecclesiastical vestment

[C13 orfreis, from Old French, from Late Latin aurifrisium, auriphrygium, from Latin aurum gold + Phrygius Phrygian]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

or•phrey

(ˈɔr fri)

n., pl. -phreys.

1. an ornamental border, esp. on an ecclesiastical vestment.

2. rich or elaborate embroidery, esp. in gold.

3. a piece of richly embroidered material.

[1300–50; Middle English orfreis < Old French < Medieval Latin aurifrisium, aurifrigium, for Latin phrase aurum Phrygium gold embroidery, literally, Phrygian gold]

or′phreyed, adj.

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Noun

orphrey - a richly embroidered edging on an ecclesiastical vestment

edging - border consisting of anything placed on the edge to finish something (such as a fringe on clothing or on a rug)

vestment - gown (especially ceremonial garments) worn by the clergy

Translations

orfroi

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References in classic literature ?

The orphreys were divided into panels representing scenes from the life of the Virgin, and the coronation of the Virgin was figured in coloured silks upon the hood.

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Whereas the peasants' gonelles are plain, with, at most, coloured borders, those depicted in the biblical scenes are richly decorated, including with orphreys, and are strikingly similar to the gonelle worn by the figure under discussion.

The founder's salt at All Souls College: the recent repair and conservation of this celebrated and unique masterpiece of medieval goldsmith's work has allowed Claude Blair and Marian Campbell to conduct the first detailed investigation into its date, origins and meaning

The cope bears the eastern and western oceans at its base, the forests and mountains at its sides, the prairie fields on hood and orphreys. and the aurora borealis on the back.