Imbric

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Arranged so that each part partly overlaps the next, like tiles laid on a roof or scales on a fish
2. Describing a pattern in which edges lie over one another in successive rows, as in roofing slates
3. Having parts that overlap in a layered arrangement, similar to the scales of a pine cone or a reptile

Etymology: In Latin, "imbrex" (plural "imbrices") was the name for the curved roof tile laid over the joints between flat tiles, so that rain ran off the roof rather than seeping through. The name is generally linked to "imber," meaning rain or a rain shower, which makes the tile's job its own description. The English family descends from that Roman roof. "Imbricatus" meant "covered with tiles," and English borrowed the idea for things that overlap like shingles: the scales of a pine cone, the plates of an armoured creature, or the petals of a flower. The shortened form "imbric" keeps the same sense of layered overlap, pointing back to the tiled roof that gave the family its image.