What is "frieze"

Frieze \Frieze\, n. [F. frise, perh. originally a woolen cloth or stuff from Friesland (F. Frise); cf. LL. frisii panni and frissatus pannus, a shaggy woolen cloth, F. friser to friz, curl. Cf. Friz.] A kind of coarse woolen cloth or stuff with a shaggy or tufted (friezed) nap on one side. ``Robes of frieze.''
--Goldsmith.

Frieze \Frieze\, v. t. To make a nap on (cloth); to friz. See Friz, v. t., 2.

Friezing machine, a machine for friezing cloth; a friezing machine.

Frieze \Frieze\, n. [Perh. the same word as frieze a, kind of cloth. Cf. Friz.] (Arch.)

1. That part of the entablature of an order which is between the architrave and cornice. It is a flat member or face, either uniform or broken by triglyphs, and often enriched with figures and other ornaments of sculpture.

2. Any sculptured or richly ornamented band in a building or, by extension, in rich pieces of furniture. See Illust. of Column.

   Cornice or frieze with bossy sculptures graven.
   --Milton.

"sculptured horizontal band in architecture," 1560s, from Middle French frise, originally "a ruff," from Medieval Latin frisium "embroidered border," variant of frigium, which is probably from Latin Phrygium "Phrygian; Phrygian work," from Phrygia, the ancient country in Asia Minor known for its embroidery (Latin also had Phrygiae vestes "ornate garments"). Meaning "decorative band along the top of a wall" was in Old French.

type of coarse woolen cloth with a nap on one side, late 14c., from Old French frise, probably ultimately from a German or Dutch word meaning "to curl" and related to frizzle.

Etymology 1 n. A kind of coarse woolen cloth or stuff with a shaggy or tufted (friezed) nap on one side. vb. (context transitive English) To make a nap on (cloth); to friz. Etymology 2

n. 1 (context architecture English) That part of the entablature of an order which is between the architrave and cornice. It is a flat member or face, either uniform or broken by triglyphs, and often enriched with figures and other ornaments of sculpture. 2 Any sculptured or richly ornamented band in a building or, by extension, in rich pieces of furniture. 3 A banner with a series of pictures.

1. n. an architectural ornament consisting of a horizontal sculptured band between the architrave and the cornice

2. a heavy woolen fabric with a long nap

In architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon the architrave ('main beam') and is capped by the moldings of the cornice. A frieze can be found on many Greek and Roman buildings, the Parthenon Frieze being the most famous, and perhaps the most elaborate.

In interiors, the frieze of a room is the section of wall above the picture rail and under the crown moldings or cornice. By extension, a frieze is a long stretch of painted, sculpted or even calligraphic decoration in such a position, normally above eye-level. Frieze decorations may depict scenes in a sequence of discrete panels. The material of which the frieze is made of may be plasterwork, carved wood or other decorative medium.

In an example of an architectural frieze on the façade of a building, the octagonal Tower of the Winds in the Roman agora at Athens bears relief sculptures of the eight winds on its frieze.

A pulvinated frieze (or pulvino) is convex in section. Such friezes were features of 17th-century Northern Mannerism, especially in subsidiary friezes, and much employed in interior architecture and in furniture.

The concept of a frieze has been generalized in the mathematical construction of frieze patterns.

Frieze is an architectural term for the wide central section part of an entablature.

Frieze may also refer to:

• Frieze (textile), a napped woolen cloth made from Frisian wool
• Frieze Art Fair, a London art fair
• Frieze (magazine), a London-based art magazine
• Frieze group, a mathematical concept

frieze is a contemporary art magazine, published eight times a year from London.

In the history of textiles, frieze (French: frisé) is a Middle English term for a coarse woollen, plain weave cloth with a nap on one side. The nap was raised by scrubbing it to raise curls of fibre, and was not shorn after being raised, leaving an uneven surface. Panni frisi, "Frisian cloths", appear in medieval inventories and other documents. Frieze was woven in the English Midlands and Wales, and in Ireland from the fourteenth century, and later in Holland as well. A similar textile is baize. In Old Norse, such cloth was called vaðmál ( wadmal), and lengths of wadmal were a medium of exchange, especially for the poor who had neither cattle nor silver. Wadmal could be used to pay property tax.

In the seventeenth century Frieze was applied to linen cloth, apparently as from Frisia, an unconnected usage.

Coarse frieze was manufactured in England for export to Ireland in the nineteenth century. "Frieze cloth, a mixed and for the most part an unraised fabric, has been manufactured for a series of years, and continues so to be, probably, in increasing quantity", wrote Samuel Jubb in 1860. "This cloth is heavy and sound, rather than fine in quality. It is made... almost entirely for the Irish trade" Frieze was to be seen Jubb noted impassively, worn so threadbare it was reduced to "the merest expression of threads crossing each other at right angles... on the back of an Irish pig-jobber or that of an Irish reaper." The Ulster, a long loose overcoat as worn in Ulster, was made of frieze. Irish frieze found its way to North America: a stock of hooded coats that was brought to Detroit in 1701 included twenty-three made of frise d'Irlande.

The term frieze can also be used for the curly nap frieze fabrics have, as well as the action of raising the nap, which differs from standard methods. Today, frieze is also a term applied to a textile technique used in modern machine-loomed carpeting, as well as the textile produced. Carpets made with this technique are known for their resilience, due to a high twist rate, outperforming standard cut or loop pile carpets.