Definition

A woven fabric, typically hung on walls as decoration, often depicting scenes or patterns; metaphorically, an intricate or complex interwoven pattern or collection of things.

Example Usage

The museum's medieval tapestry hung behind velvet ropes, and the artist's career was a rich tapestry of experimental styles.

Origin

From Old French 'tapisserie', related to 'tapis' (carpet), which came from Greek 'tapΔ“s'.

Fun Fact

Famous tapestries like the Bayeux Tapestry are actually embroidered rather than woven, showcasing linguistic slippage in historical naming.

Source: Definition backfill (hailey)

Related Terms

Beginner

poster tube

A cylindrical cardboard or plastic container used to store and transport rolled posters, documents, or artwork without creasing or damage. Commonly found in art studios, offices, and shipping departments as a protective mailing tube.

πŸŽ“ Education / Academia
Beginner

adjunct faculty

Part-time professors hired on a per-course basis with minimal benefits and no job security, essentially the gig economy workers of higher education. They teach the same courses as tenured faculty but for a fraction of the pay, making them academia's favorite cost-cutting measure.

πŸŽ“ Education / Academia
Beginner

Pedagogical

An unnecessarily fancy adjective for anything related to teaching, making education professors sound more serious than they probably are.

πŸŽ“ Education / Academia
Beginner

pianist

Someone who plays the piano, with a pronunciation (pee-AN-ist) that requires careful enunciation to avoid unfortunate anatomical misunderstandings. A constant reminder that classical music terminology is one mispronounced syllable away from disaster.

πŸŽ“ Education / Academia
Beginner

GPA

Grade Point Average -- a single number that supposedly represents four years of intellectual growth but mostly reflects your ability to choose easy professors and drop classes before the deadline. It ranges from 0.0 to 4.0, with your self-worth mysteriously following the same scale.

πŸŽ“ Education / Academia
Beginner

reading day

A day before finals with no classes, ostensibly for students to study but actually for stress-crying and cramming multiple weeks of neglected material. The academic equivalent of thoughts and prayers.

πŸŽ“ Education / Academia

Translate This Term

See “tapestry” in Corporate Speak, Gen-Z Slang, Pirate Speak, and more.

Try the Translator

Share This Term

Post on XShare on FacebookShare on LinkedIn

Discover a Term

Intermediate

mandoline

A razor-sharp slicing tool that creates uniformly thin cuts with terrifying efficiency, equally famous for perfect potat...