imbricate

Sep. 29th, 2010 07:22 am
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[personal profile] prettygoodword
imbricate (IM-bri-kit, IM-bri-kayt) - adj., to overlap in a regular pattern, like tiles or scales; of, pertaining to, or resembling overlapping tiles. v., to overlap regularly.


Shingles, fish-scales, petals of a flower bud, whatever. In botany this seems to be used for certain types of irregular overlapping, but in all other cases regularity is strongly implied. Borrowed around 1610 from Late Latin imbricātus, tiled with imbrices or pantiles, past participle of imbricāre, to cover with same, from imbrex, a pantile. That being a raised roofing tile used to cover the joint between the flat tiles, in ancient Greece and Rome, which comes from imber, rainstorm, which is either from or cognate of Greek ombros, rain.

---L.

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