Imbricate

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To position elements in a manner where they overlap like scales or roof tiles, creating a layered effect, while ensuring that each layer partially conceals the one beneath it
2. To place items so their edges partly cover one another, similar to how roof shingles are layered
3. To overlap components in a pattern where each piece conceals part of the one below it, resembling fish scales

Etymology: Latin "imbricātus" meant "tiled" or "covered with roof tiles," from "imbrex," a curved tile used on Roman roofs. The Romans laid these tiles in overlapping rows, each one partly hiding the edge of the tile beneath it, so a finished roof looked a little like a fish's back. The verb "imbricate" carries that image straight into English, describing anything arranged in the same overlapping fashion. The English word was borrowed directly from Latin rather than arriving through French, so its tile-roof origin is still visible in its form. Its meaning has stayed close to the original picture: pieces that are arranged so that each one covers part of the next. In botany and zoology, where scales, bracts and feathers often overlap this way, the term remains a precise description rather than a metaphor.

Synonyms: overlap, interlay, layer, stack, shingle