Pargetten

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Covered with a layer of plaster, often ornamented with raised patterns, as on the outside walls of a building
2. Having been finished with a coat of plaster that is sometimes moulded into decorative designs on a wall or facade
3. Smoothed over with lime or cement plaster, frequently decorated with relief work on the exterior of a house

Etymology: "Parget" comes from Old French "parjeter," meaning to throw over or about, built from "par-" (a variant of "per-," meaning through or thoroughly) and "jeter" (to throw). Plaster was literally thrown onto a wall, and the English verb originally meant simply to coat a surface with plaster. Over time, the noun "pargeting" narrowed to something more specific: ornamental plasterwork, often with raised patterns of scrolls, flowers, and figures, applied to the exterior of timber-framed houses. The finest surviving examples cluster in East Anglia, especially in Suffolk and Essex, where decorated facades still line old streets. "Pargetten" is the past participle of this verb, the form used for a wall that has already been coated. It is an older spelling, from the period when English verbs of this kind were written with different endings.