Meanings
plural fretworks
- countableuncountableOrnamental woodwork either carved in low relief or cut through.
Very interested, Dr Grimsby watched the saw follow the fine pencil line on the white pearwood as Peter dexterously twirled the veneers on the fretwork table, timing the movement of both hands precisely to put no strain on either the saw or the wood.
1950, Norman Lindsay, Dust or Polish?, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 77
Synonyms & antonyms
nounframework consisting of an ornamental design made of strips of wood or metal
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Translations
Catalan trepat artesà
- trepat artesàornamental woodwork
Finnish puuleikkaus
- puuleikkausornamental woodwork
German Laubsägearbeit
- Laubsägearbeitornamental woodwork
Italian intaglio, traforo
- intaglioornamental woodwork
- traforoornamental woodwork
Portuguese talha, talha doce
- talhaornamental woodwork
- talha doceornamental woodwork
- entalheornamental woodwork
Spanish greca
- grecaornamental woodwork
Ukrainian різьба́
- різьба́ (rizʹbá)ornamental woodwork
Cite this entry
fretwork. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fretwork
“fretwork.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fretwork. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fretwork,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fretwork.
Source: fretwork on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.