finery

F4I1N1E1R1Y4
/ˈfaɪnəɹi/

noun

Fineness; beauty.

UncommonScrabble 12

Meanings

nounfinery (countable and uncountable, plural fineries)

plural fineries

  1. countableobsoleteuncountableFineness; beauty.
  2. countableOrnament; decoration; especially, excessive decoration; showy clothes; jewels.

    The city also shone through the luxury of the higher castes: in the fineries of their dress, the rich manner of their living, their many servants, silver table services, and showy furnishings.

    1980, John A. Crow, The Epic of Latin America
  3. countableuncountablefine point; minute characteristic

    the translator should master the language he translates from as thoroughly as his mother tongue, knowing all its fineries

    2020, Lieven D’hulst, Kaisa Koskinen, Translating in Town
  4. countableuncountableartsA charcoal hearth or furnace for the conversion of cast iron into wrought iron, or into iron suitable for puddling.

    In front of the finery hearth in which the sow is melted down again, the finer is working with a long iron bar called a ringer (from French 'ringard') with which he keeps the molten iron in motion by stirring, an essential stage in the process of refining.

    1957, H.R. Schubert, History of the British Iron and Steel Industry, page 160

Translations

Bulgarian премяна, натруфеност
  • премяна (premjana)excessive decoration, showy clothes, jewels
  • натруфеност (natrufenost)excessive decoration, showy clothes, jewels
  • пещ за рафиниране (pešt za rafinirane)charcoal hearth
Czech paráda, pudlovací pec
  • parádaexcessive decoration, showy clothes, jewels
  • pudlovací peccharcoal hearth
Finnish kruusaus, hepenet
  • kruusausexcessive decoration, showy clothes, jewels
  • hepenetexcessive decoration, showy clothes, jewels
  • helytexcessive decoration, showy clothes, jewels
Māori whakapaipai
  • whakapaipaiexcessive decoration, showy clothes, jewels
Russian убранство
  • убранство (ubranstvo)excessive decoration, showy clothes, jewels
Swedish stass
  • stassexcessive decoration, showy clothes, jewels
Cite this entry
APA

finery. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/finery

MLA

“finery.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/finery. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “finery,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/finery.

Source: finery on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.