furbelow


Also found in: Thesaurus, Wikipedia.

fur·be·low

 (fûr′bə-lō′)
n.
1. A ruffle or flounce on a garment.
2. A piece of showy ornamentation.
tr.v. fur·be·lowed, fur·be·low·ing, fur·be·lows
To decorate with a ruffle or flounce.

[Probably alteration of Provençal farbello, farbella, fringe, perhaps alteration of Italian faldella, pleat, diminutive of falda, flap, loose end, of Germanic origin; see pel- in Indo-European roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

furbelow

(ˈfɜːbɪˌləʊ)
n
1. (Clothing & Fashion) a flounce, ruffle, or other ornamental trim
2. (often plural) showy ornamentation
vb
(tr) to put a furbelow on (a garment)
[C18: by folk etymology from French dialect farbella; see falbala]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

fur•be•low

(ˈfɜr bəˌloʊ)

n.
1. a ruffle or flounce.
2. any bit of showy trimming or finery.
v.t.
3. to ornament with or as if with furbelows.
[1670–80; alter. of falbala < French]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

furbelow


Past participle: furbelowed
Gerund: furbelowing

Imperative
furbelow
furbelow
Present
I furbelow
you furbelow
he/she/it furbelows
we furbelow
you furbelow
they furbelow
Preterite
I furbelowed
you furbelowed
he/she/it furbelowed
we furbelowed
you furbelowed
they furbelowed
Present Continuous
I am furbelowing
you are furbelowing
he/she/it is furbelowing
we are furbelowing
you are furbelowing
they are furbelowing
Present Perfect
I have furbelowed
you have furbelowed
he/she/it has furbelowed
we have furbelowed
you have furbelowed
they have furbelowed
Past Continuous
I was furbelowing
you were furbelowing
he/she/it was furbelowing
we were furbelowing
you were furbelowing
they were furbelowing
Past Perfect
I had furbelowed
you had furbelowed
he/she/it had furbelowed
we had furbelowed
you had furbelowed
they had furbelowed
Future
I will furbelow
you will furbelow
he/she/it will furbelow
we will furbelow
you will furbelow
they will furbelow
Future Perfect
I will have furbelowed
you will have furbelowed
he/she/it will have furbelowed
we will have furbelowed
you will have furbelowed
they will have furbelowed
Future Continuous
I will be furbelowing
you will be furbelowing
he/she/it will be furbelowing
we will be furbelowing
you will be furbelowing
they will be furbelowing
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been furbelowing
you have been furbelowing
he/she/it has been furbelowing
we have been furbelowing
you have been furbelowing
they have been furbelowing
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been furbelowing
you will have been furbelowing
he/she/it will have been furbelowing
we will have been furbelowing
you will have been furbelowing
they will have been furbelowing
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been furbelowing
you had been furbelowing
he/she/it had been furbelowing
we had been furbelowing
you had been furbelowing
they had been furbelowing
Conditional
I would furbelow
you would furbelow
he/she/it would furbelow
we would furbelow
you would furbelow
they would furbelow
Past Conditional
I would have furbelowed
you would have furbelowed
he/she/it would have furbelowed
we would have furbelowed
you would have furbelowed
they would have furbelowed
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.furbelow - a strip of pleated material used as a decoration or a trimfurbelow - a strip of pleated material used as a decoration or a trim
adornment - a decoration of color or interest that is added to relieve plainness
gauffer, goffer - an ornamental frill made by pressing pleats
jabot - a ruffle on the front of a woman's blouse or a man's shirt
peplum - a flared ruffle attached to the waistline of a dress or jacket or blouse
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations

furbelow

n
(old)Falbel f, → Faltenbesatz m
usu pl furbelows (pej)Firlefanz m
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
References in classic literature ?
Their jewels, their feathers, their silks, and their furbelows, would have sunk into utter insignificance beside the exquisite simplicity of attire adopted by the nymphs of the vale on this festive occasion.
Of living in a city And wearing clothes and furbelows
I ain't got any patience with your flowers and frizzled-out hair and furbelows an' airs an' graces, for all the world like your Miss-Nancy father."
They are cold, slim, sexless; the physique is not generous, not abundant; it is only the drapery, the skirts and furbelows (that is, I mean in the young lady who has her mother) that are abundant.
Those dresses are good, sensible, serviceable dresses, without any frills or furbelows about them, and they're all you'll get this summer.
Many a private chair, too, inclosing some fine lady, monstrously hooped and furbelowed, and preceded by running-footmen bearing flambeaux--for which extinguishers are yet suspended before the doors of a few houses of the better sort--made the way gay and light as it danced along, and darker and more dismal when it had passed.
"Well, I don't know that fifty is much for a dress, with all the furbelows and notions you have to have to finish it off these days."
I can see them now, sweeping over the lawns at Melbury House, in their flounces and furbelows, so calm and stately and imperial (and the monkey and the little black dwarf following behind), as if nothing mattered in the world but to be beautiful and kind.
"Noo ye're married to her, there's her bonnets and goons and under-clothin'--her ribbons, laces, furbelows, and fallals.
On the whole, with her poetic furbelows and her misshapen, intelligent little face, she was, when you knew her, a decidedly interesting woman.
Winterbourne stood looking after her; and as she moved away, drawing her muslin furbelows over the gravel, said to himself that she had the tournure of a princess.
No doggie frill or furbelow is too much for family pets depressed at their families' absence.