sash

S1A1S1H4
/sæʃ/

noun

A piece of cloth designed to be worn around the waist.

Less commonFirst used circa 1680Scrabble 7

Meanings

sash1

nounsash (plural sashes)

plural sashes

  1. businessA piece of cloth designed to be worn around the waist.

    Synonyms: belt, cummerbund, obi, waistband

  2. businessA decorative length of cloth worn over the shoulder to the opposite hip, often for ceremonial or other formal occasions.
  3. alternativeobsoleteAlternative spelling of shash (“the scarf of a turban”).

    So much for the ſilk in Judea called Sheſh in Hebrevv, vvhence haply, that fine linen or ſilk is called Shaſhes vvorn at this day about the heads of eaſtern people.

    1650, Thomas Fuller, “The Land of Moriah”, in A Pisgah-sight of Palestine and the Confines thereof, with the History of the Old and New Testament Acted thereon, London: […] J. F. for John Williams […], →OCLC, book II, paragraph 24, page 303
verbsash (third-person singular simple present sashes, present participle sashing, simple past and past participle sashed)

present singular third person sashes · participle present sashing · participle past sashed · past sashed

  1. transitiveTo adorn with a sash.
    1 more example

    1796, Edmund Burke, Letters on a Regicide Peace, Letter IV to the Earl Fitzwilliam, in The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, London: C. and J. Rivington, 1826, Volume 9, p. 46, […] the Costume of the Sans-culotte Constitution of 1793 was absolutely insufferable […] but now they are so powdered and perfumed, and ribanded, and sashed and plumed, that […] there is something in it more grand and noble, something more suitable to an awful Roman Senate, receiving the homage of dependant Tetrarchs.

sash2

nounsash (plural sashes)

plural sashes

  1. The opening part of a window, usually containing the glass panes; either hinged to the jamb, or sliding up and down as in a sash window.First known use circa 1680

    Near-synonym: casement

    4 more examples

    One Morning he pulls off his Diamond Ring, and vvrites upon the Glaſs of the Saſh in my Chamber this Line, You I Love, and you alone.

    1722 (indicated as 1721), [Daniel Defoe], The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders, &c. […], London: […] W[illiam Rufus] Chetwood, […]; and T. Edling, […], published 1722, →OCLC, page 91

    1823, Clement Clarke Moore, “Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas” (“The Night before Christmas”), Away to the window I flew like a flash, Tore open the shutters, and threw up the sash.

    "In judging of that tempestuous wind called Euroclydon," says an old writer—of whose works I possess the only copy extant—"it maketh a marvellous difference, whether thou lookest out at it from a glass window where the frost is all on the outside, or whether thou observest it from that sashless window, where the frost is on both sides, and of which the wight Death is the only glazier."

    1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter II, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 10

    She chiefly recalled the Square under snow; cold mornings, and the coldness of the oil-cloth at the window, and the draught of cold air through the ill-fitting sash (it was put right now)!

    1908, Arnold Bennett, The Old Wives’ Tale, Book 4, Chapter 2

    Synonyms: casement

  2. computingA draggable vertical or horizontal bar used to adjust the relative sizes of two adjacent windows.

    Synonyms: splitter

  3. sawmillingThe rectangular frame in which the saw is strained and by which it is carried up and down with a reciprocating motion; the gate.
  4. chemistryA window-like part of a fume hood which can be moved up and down in order to create a barrier between chemicals and people.

    Each hood is equipped with two sliding sashes, glazed with polished plate wire-glass; […]

    1915 April, W. A. Hamor, “Description of the New Building of the Mellon Institute”, in The Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, page 334
    1 more example

    […] it [fume hood] also affords an excellent physical barrier on all four sides of a reacting system when the sash is pulled down.

    2008, Kenneth L. Williamson, Katherine M. Masters, Macroscale and Microscale Organic Experiments, published 2015, →ISBN, page 35
verbsash (third-person singular simple present sashes, present participle sashing, simple past and past participle sashed)

present singular third person sashes · participle present sashing · participle past sashed · past sashed

  1. transitiveTo furnish with a sash.

    The old Bow-windows he will have preserv'd, but will not have them sash’d,

    1741, Samuel Richardson, Pamela, London, Volume 3, Letter 1, p. 2

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA piece of cloth designed to be worn around the waist.

nounThe opening part of a window, usually containing the glass panes; either hinged to the jamb, or sliding up and down as in a sash window.

Similar

nounA draggable vertical or horizontal bar used to adjust the relative sizes of two adjacent windows.

Similar

More synonyms by meaning

nouna framework that holds the panes of a window in the window frame

Similar
window sash

nouna band of material around the waist that strengthens a skirt or trousers

Broader

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

sash · noun, verb

  1. Arabicشَاش“muslin cloth”
  2. Englishsash

From Arabic شَاش (šāš, “muslin cloth”).

Full word history & related roots →

sash · noun, verb

  1. Frenchchâssis“frame (of a window or door)”
  2. Englishsash

From sashes, from metathesis of French châssis (“frame (of a window or door)”), taken as a plural and -s trimmed off by the late 17th century. See also chassis.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic وِشَاح
  • وِشَاح (wišāḥ)decorative length of cloth
Bulgarian пояс
  • пояс (pojas)decorative length of cloth
Chinese Mandarin 飾帶 /饰带, 窗扇
  • 飾帶 /饰带 (shìdài)decorative length of cloth
  • 窗扇 (chuāngshàn)opening part of a window
  • 窗框 (chuāngkuàng)opening part of a window
Czech šerpa
  • šerpadecorative length of cloth
Danish skærf
  • skærfdecorative length of cloth
Dutch sjerp, schuifraam
  • sjerpdecorative length of cloth
  • schuifraamopening part of a window
Esperanto skarpo
  • skarpodecorative length of cloth worn over the shoulder
Finnish nauha, vyö
  • nauhadecorative length of cloth
  • vyödecorative length of cloth
  • ikkunaopening part of a window
  • ikkunanpuiteopening part of a window
  • kehysgraphical user interface: draggable bar
  • raamirectangular frame in which a saw is strained
French écharpe, ventail
  • écharpedecorative length of cloth
  • ventailopening part of a window
  • battantopening part of a window
  • ouvrantopening part of a window
German Schärpe, Schiebeflügel
  • Schärpedecorative length of cloth
  • Schiebeflügelopening part of a window
  • Fensterflügelopening part of a window
  • Schieberahmenopening part of a window
Greek ζώνη, ορθοστάτης
  • ζώνη (zóni)decorative length of cloth
  • ορθοστάτης (orthostátis)opening part of a window
Hebrew אַבְנֵט
  • אַבְנֵט (avnét)decorative length of cloth
Italian fascia, sciarpa
  • fasciadecorative length of cloth
  • sciarpadecorative length of cloth
  • battenteopening part of a window
  • antaopening part of a window
  • persianaopening part of a window
Japanese 帯
  • 帯 (obi)decorative length of cloth
Korean 허리띠
  • 허리띠 (heoritti)decorative length of cloth
Malay sawat
  • sawatdecorative length of cloth
Māori tāpeka
  • tāpekadecorative length of cloth
Persian بروفه
  • بروفه (borufe)decorative length of cloth
Polish pas, szarfa
  • pasdecorative length of cloth
  • szarfadecorative length of cloth
Portuguese faixa
  • faixadecorative length of cloth
Russian по́яс, куша́к
  • по́яс (pójas)decorative length of cloth
  • куша́к (kušák)decorative length of cloth
  • ле́нта (lénta)decorative length of cloth
  • ра́ма (ráma)rectangular frame in which a saw is strained
Spanish guillotina, panel
  • guillotinaopening part of a window
  • panelopening part of a window
  • painelopening part of a window
Swahili shuka
  • shukadecorative length of cloth
Swedish skärp, fönsterbåge
  • skärpdecorative length of cloth
  • fönsterbågeopening part of a window
  • bågeopening part of a window
Turkish söve, çerçeve
  • söveopening part of a window
  • çerçeveopening part of a window
Ukrainian пояс, перев'яз
  • пояс (pojas)decorative length of cloth
  • перев'яз (perevʺjaz)decorative length of cloth

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with sash

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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