☼ Concept Map

''herringbone'' ▫ᴱᴺ Entries

↩ 🔳 🔳 🔳

Primary

⁀➴

''herringbone'' ▫ᴱᴺ｜Definition｜1st｜20260207202820-00-⌔

herringbone - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

🖼️ ➺ 🖼️ ➺

Noun

herringbone (countable and uncountable, plural herringbones)

  • (literally, countable) A bone of a herring.
    • ✤ The prosperity of Amsterdam was then so great that it was said that Amsterdam was “founded on herring-bones.”1
  • A zigzag pattern, especially made by bricks, on a cloth, or by stitches in sewing.
    • ✤ ‘The best path of life is but a herring-bone pattern.’2
    • ✤ Mr Bloom walked behind the eyeless feet, a flatcut suit of herringbone tweed.3
    • ✤ Though almost engulfed by Bedford, Elstow’s claim to villagedom is still maintained by two fine rows of timber-framed, overhung, black-and-white cottages and the timber and herringbone -brick Swan pub.4
  • (countable, skiing) A method of climbing a hill by pointing the skis outward in a V-shape to keep from sliding backwards.
  • (textiles) Twilled fabric woven in rows of parallel sloping lines.
    • ✤ For some strange and elusive reason, the staid, prosaic herringbones have angled themselves into a position of fashion prominence.5

Verb

herringbone (third-person singular simple present herringbones, present participle herringboning, simple past and past participle herringboned)

  • To stitch in a herringbone pattern.
  • (skiing) To climb a hill by pointing the skis outward in a V -shape to keep from sliding backwards.

Etymology

From herring +‎ bone.

Pronunciation

  • (Canada) IPA: /ˈhɛɹɪŋˌboʊn/

Printed 2026-06-28.

(echo:: @ ⌗)

Footnotes

  1. 1884, Samuel Smiles, Men of Invention and Industry: ↩

  2. 1861, Charlotte Yonge, The Young Step-Mother: ↩

  3. 1922 February, James Joyce, Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC: ↩

  4. 1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 174: ↩

  5. 1963, Men’s Wear, volume 147, page 39: ↩

Link to original

Secondary

• • •