stumpwork means A style of embroidery where the stitched figures are raised from the surface of the work to produce a three-dimensional effect. It carries an Arena rating of 1496, earned across 108 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, stumpwork ranks #467 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #504 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words, #814 of 17,140 for Most Whimsical Words, #996 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words.
Why “stumpwork” is a great word
STUMPWORK — [Noun] A style of embroidery in which stitched figures are raised from the surface to create a three-dimensional effect. From stump (referring to a raised or projecting part) + work (meaning a product of labor, as in needlework). Unlike appliqué, which layers flat fabric for a design of modest relief, or crewelwork, whose woolen patterns remain resolutely surface-bound, stumpwork is miniature architecture in thread. It is the silk-wrapped wire of a luteist's poised fingers, the padded velvet body of a hart beneath raised-chain leaves, and the grotesque, laughing face of a green man molded from kid leather—a testament to the human urge to give substance, however fragile, to the merely pictorial, a small, stubborn rebellion against the flatness of things.
Etymology
From stump + work.
noun
- A style of embroidery where the stitched figures are raised from the surface of the work to produce a three-dimensional effect.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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