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Jan 24, 2014
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Toponyms

This week's words
stellenbosch
campanology
perse
iliad
damask

Damascus, Syria
Damascus, Syria

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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

damask

PRONUNCIATION:
(DAM-uhsk)

MEANING:
noun:1. A reversible fabric with a pattern woven into it, used for table linen, upholstery, etc.
 2. Short for damask rose.
 3. The color of damask rose: grayish red or pink.
 4. Short for damask steel.
 5. Wavy markings on such steel.
adjective:1. Made of or resembling damask.
 2. Having the color of damask rose.
verb tr.:1. To decorate or weave with richly-figured designs.
 2. To inlay a metal object with gold or silver patterns; to gild.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Damascus, where this fabric was first produced. Earliest documented use: 1325.

USAGE:
"The richly coloured damask-covered walls do evoke the palaces for which many of the pictures were intended."
Getting Away from Cultural Spinach; The Economist (London, UK); Aug 28, 2008.

See more usage examples of damask in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
There are two kinds of light -- the glow that illuminates, and the glare that obscures. -James Thurber, writer and cartoonist (1894-1961)

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