patchwork means A work, such as a blanket, composed of many different colors and shapes, sewn together to make an interesting whole.
Why “patchwork” is a great word
A thing composed of many different, often incongruous, parts or pieces sewn or assembled together. From patch (a piece of material used to mend or cover a hole) + work (something made or done), first recorded in 1685–95. Unlike a mosaic, which implies small, regular, hard pieces set into a ground to create a unified artistic image, or a hodgepodge, which suggests a confused mixture without intentional design, patchwork carries the evidence of necessity and care—the deliberate joining of remnants to serve a purpose. It is the faded velvet of a theater curtain beside a flour-sack gingham beside a scrap of wedding silk, all whip-stitched into a counterpane for a cold farmhouse bed; it is the irregular skyline of a shantytown climbing a hillside, each dwelling cobbled from salvaged tin and packing crate and hope; it is the visible history of careful repairs on a well-loved coat. The patchwork does not disguise its seams; it insists upon them, each juncture a record of what was broken and saved, what was finished and enough.
Etymology
From patch + work.
noun
- A work, such as a blanket, composed of many different colors and shapes, sewn together to make an interesting whole.
- Any kind of creation that makes use of many different aspects to create one whole piece.e.g.“Bill took all of his poetry and put it together in a folder. It made up a patchwork of his life.”
- A state of regulations whose constituents have an opaque scope of application because of their questionable delimitation with regard to each other.
verb
- To create a patchwork from pieces of fabric.
- To assemble from a variety of sources; to cobble together.
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- consarcination 83% match — A patching together; patchwork. vs patchwork →
- melange 83% match — A mixture of different things; a disordered mixture. vs patchwork →
- cento 83% match — A hotchpotch, a mixture; especially a piece made up of quotations from other authors, or a poem containing individual lines from other poems. vs patchwork →
- montage 82% match — A composite work, particularly an artwork, created by assembling or putting together other elements such as pieces of music, pictures, texts, videos, etc. vs patchwork →
- ragtag 82% match — Unkempt, shabby, or in a state of disrepair. vs patchwork →
- contexture 82% match — A weaving together of parts. vs patchwork →
- sampler 81% match — A piece of needlework embroidered with a variety of designs. vs patchwork →
- embroider 81% match — To stitch a decorative design on fabric with needle and thread of various colours. vs patchwork →