Scrollworks

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Decorative designs or ornaments that consist of spirals and curves, often used in architecture, woodworking, or metalwork to embellish surfaces and edges
2. Artistic patterns featuring continuous, flowing spirals and loops applied as embellishments in various crafts like engraving, carving, and furniture decoration
3. Elaborate motifs made up of intertwined scroll-like lines and shapes that serve as ornamental elements in design and decorative arts

Etymology: "Scrollworks" is simply the plural of "scrollwork," a compound of "scroll" and "work." A scroll was originally a rolled sheet of writing material, and the word came into English from Anglo-Norman "escrowe," a form of Old French "escroe," a piece of parchment or paper rolled up. Its sense of a spiral or coiled shape came from the rolled form of such a document, and that curl is what decorative scrollwork imitates. Scrollwork combines this curling form with "work" in the sense of decorative craft or ornamental execution, so the compound names ornamentation built from spirals and volutes. The plural, "scrollworks," refers to separate pieces or examples of such decoration.

Synonyms: scroll designs, scroll motifs, ornamental scrolls