Meanings
frieze1
plural friezes · alternative freeze
- countableuncountableA kind of coarse woollen cloth or stuff with a shaggy or tufted (friezed) nap on one side.
This dark, frieze-coated, hoarse, teeth-chattering month […]
1796, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, On Observing a Blossom on the First of February 17963 more examples
[I]f a plaine fellow well and cleanely apparelled, either in home-ſpun ruſſet or freeze (as the ſeaſon requires) with a five pouch at his girdle, happen to appeare in his ruſticall likenes: there is a Cozen ſaies one, At which word out flies the Taker, and thus giues the onſet vpon my olde Pennyfather.
1608, [Thomas Dekker], “Of Barnards Law”, in The Belman of London. […], London: […] [Edward Allde and Nicholas Okes] for Nathaniel Butter, →OCLC, signature F, versoFrom beggar's frieze to monarch's robe, / One common doom is pass'd; / Sweet nature's works, the swelling globe, / Must all burn out at last.
1829, Charles Sprague, To My Cigar"You may shoot, or you may not," cried Scarrow, striking his hand upon the breast of his frieze jacket.
1897, Arthur Conan Doyle, How the Governor of Saint Kitt's came Home
present singular third person friezes · participle present friezing · participle past friezed · past friezed
frieze2
plural friezes
- architectureThe portion of an architectural entablature situated between the architrave and the cornice, consisting of a flat surface that may be continuous or articulated by triglyphs and is often decorated with sculptural figures and ornamental details.
- broadlyAny sculptured or richly ornamented band in a building or in rich pieces of furniture.
The narrative frieze, which was derived from the scenes on steles and seals, became the most important aspect of Assyrian art.
1993, Funk & Wagnalls Corporation, Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia, volume 17, page 205 - A banner with a series of pictures.
The classroom had an alphabet frieze that showed an animal for each letter.
present singular third person friezes · participle present friezing · participle past friezed · past friezed
- transitivearchitectureTo put a frieze on.
Frieze3
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
frieze · noun, verb
- Medieval LatinFrisia“Frisian (wool)”
- Middle Frenchfrise
- Englishfrieze
Late Middle English, from French and Middle French frise, probably from Medieval Latin Frisia (“Frisian (wool)”) due to import via Northern ships. Or, from French friser (“to curl”)..
More words from Middle French, Medieval Latin
Full word history & related roots →frieze · noun, verb
- Latinopus Phrygium“a kind of embroidery”
- Arabicإِفْرِيز“king beam, cornice”
- Medieval Latinfrisum
- Italianfris f
- Middle Frenchfrise f
- Englishfrieze
From French and Middle French frise f, derived from an Upper Italian fris f, Medieval Latin frisum, frisium, frigium, frixum, frigium, of controversial origin, possibly from multiple sources, Arabic إِفْرِيز (ʔifrīz, “king beam, cornice”) and Latin opus Phrygium (“a kind of embroidery”, literally “work of Phrygia”), the demonym Frisian and terms related to the textile term above in a transferred sense.
More words from Middle French, Italian, Medieval Latin
Full word history & related roots →Frieze · proper noun
Probably a spelling variant of Fries and Frees.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic إِفْرِيز
- إِفْرِيز (ʔifrīz)architecture: space between architrave and cornice
Basque friso
- frisoarchitecture: space between architrave and cornice
Bulgarian аба, шаяк
- аба (aba)kind of coarse cloth
- шаяк (šajak)kind of coarse cloth
- фриз (friz)architecture: space between architrave and cornice
- фриз (friz)sculptured or richly ornamented band
Catalan fris, fris
- frisarchitecture: space between architrave and cornice
- frissculptured or richly ornamented band
Chinese Mandarin 腰線 /腰线
- 腰線 /腰线 (yāoxiàn)architecture: space between architrave and cornice
Czech vlys
- vlysarchitecture: space between architrave and cornice
Danish frise
- frisearchitecture: space between architrave and cornice
Dutch fries
- friesarchitecture: space between architrave and cornice
Esperanto friso
- frisoarchitecture: space between architrave and cornice
Estonian friis
- friisarchitecture: space between architrave and cornice
Finnish friisi, friisikangas
- friisikind of coarse cloth
- friisikangaskind of coarse cloth
- friisiarchitecture: space between architrave and cornice
- friisisculptured or richly ornamented band
French frise, bure
- frisekind of coarse cloth
- burekind of coarse cloth
- frisearchitecture: space between architrave and cornice
- frisesculptured or richly ornamented band
German Fries, Friese
- Frieskind of coarse cloth
- Friesekind of coarse cloth
- Friesarchitecture: space between architrave and cornice
- Friessculptured or richly ornamented band
Greek ζωφόρος, ζωοφόρος
- ζωφόρος (zofóros)architecture: space between architrave and cornice
- ζωοφόρος (zoofóros)sculptured or richly ornamented band
Hebrew אפריז
- אפריז (efríz)architecture: space between architrave and cornice
Hungarian fríz
- frízarchitecture: space between architrave and cornice
Italian rascia, fregio
- rasciakind of coarse cloth
- fregioarchitecture: space between architrave and cornice
- fregiosculptured or richly ornamented band
Japanese フリーズ
- フリーズ (furīzu)architecture: space between architrave and cornice
Korean 프리즈
- 프리즈 (peurijeu)architecture: space between architrave and cornice
Latin zoophorus
- zoophorusarchitecture: space between architrave and cornice
Latvian frīze
- frīzearchitecture: space between architrave and cornice
Lithuanian frizas
- frizasarchitecture: space between architrave and cornice
Norwegian Bokmål frise
- frisearchitecture: space between architrave and cornice
Persian حاشیه زینتی
- حاشیه زینتی (hâshiye zînye)architecture: space between architrave and cornice
Polish fryza, fryz
- fryzakind of coarse cloth
- fryzarchitecture: space between architrave and cornice
- fryzsculptured or richly ornamented band
Portuguese baeta, friso
- baetakind of coarse cloth
- frisoarchitecture: space between architrave and cornice
Romanian friză
- frizăarchitecture: space between architrave and cornice
Russian бо́брик, фриз
- бо́брик (bóbrik)kind of coarse cloth
- фриз (friz)architecture: space between architrave and cornice
- фриз (friz)sculptured or richly ornamented band
- бордю́р (bordjúr)sculptured or richly ornamented band
Slovak vlys
- vlysarchitecture: space between architrave and cornice
Spanish friso, friso
- frisoarchitecture: space between architrave and cornice
- frisosculptured or richly ornamented band
Swedish fris, fris
- friskind of coarse cloth
- frisarchitecture: space between architrave and cornice
Turkish friz, friz
- frizarchitecture: space between architrave and cornice
- frizsculptured or richly ornamented band
Ukrainian фриз
- фриз (fryz)architecture: space between architrave and cornice
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with frieze
Sounds the same
Cite this entry
frieze. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/frieze
“frieze.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/frieze. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “frieze,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/frieze.
Source: frieze on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.