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Today it means

brocade

a rich fabric woven with a raised, often gold or silver, pattern

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Where does the word "brocade" come from? It comes from Italian broccato, and was adopted directly into English (1560s).

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Where does the word "brocade" come from? It comes from Italian broccato, and was adopted directly into English (1560s).

Brocade’s story begins in Italian: broccato meant “an embossed fabric.” From broccare (to stud, to spur), describing raised, embossed patterns woven into cloth. It reached English by 1560s as brocade. Settled as the English word for the richly patterned woven fabric. Today, brocade means a rich fabric woven with a raised, often gold or silver, pattern.

  1. Stage 1 · Italian · 1500s broccato "an embossed fabric", from broccare (to stud, to spur), describing raised, embossed patterns woven into cloth.
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1560s brocade "a richly decorative woven fabric", settled as the English word for the richly patterned woven fabric.

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