from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Brussels \Brussels\ prop. n. (Geography)
The capital city of Belgium. Population (2000) = 949,070
(metro). It has given its name to a kind of carpet, a kind of
lace, etc.
[PJC]
{Brussels carpet}, a kind of carpet made of worsted yarn
fixed in a foundation web of strong linen thread. The
worsted, which alone shows on the upper surface in drawn
up in loops to form the pattern.
{Brussels ground}, a name given to the handmade ground of
real Brussels lace. It is very costly because of the
extreme fineness of the threads.
{Brussels lace}, an expensive kind of lace of several
varieties, originally made in Brussels; as, Brussels
point, Brussels ground, Brussels wire ground.
{Brussels net}, an imitation of Brussels ground, made by
machinery.
{Brussels point}. See {Point lace}.
{Brussels sprouts} (Bot.), a plant of the Cabbage family,
which produces, in the axils of the upright stem, numerous
small green heads, or "sprouts," each a cabbage in
miniature, of one or two inches in diameter; the
thousand-headed cabbage.
{Brussels wire ground}, a ground for lace, made of silk, with
meshes partly straight and partly arched.
[1913 Webster]
from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Carpet \Car"pet\ (k[aum]r"p[e^]t), n. [OF. carpite rug, soft of
cloth, F. carpette coarse packing cloth, rug (cf. It. carpita
rug, blanket), LL. carpeta, carpita, woolly cloths, fr. L.
carpere to pluck, to card (wool); cf. Gr. karpo`s fruit, E.
{Harvest}.]
1. A heavy woven or felted fabric, usually of wool, but also
of cotton, hemp, straw, etc.; esp. a floor covering made
in breadths to be sewed together and nailed to the floor,
as distinguished from a rug or mat; originally, also, a
wrought cover for tables.
[1913 Webster]
Tables and beds covered with copes instead of
carpets and coverlets. --T. Fuller.
[1913 Webster]
2. A smooth soft covering resembling or suggesting a carpet.
"The grassy carpet of this plain." --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
{Carpet beetle} or {Carpet bug} (Zool.), a small beetle
({Anthrenus scrophulari[ae]}), which, in the larval state,
does great damage to carpets and other woolen goods; --
also called {buffalo bug}.
{Carpet knight}.
(a) A knight who enjoys ease and security, or luxury, and
has not known the hardships of the field; a hero of
the drawing room; an effeminate person. --Shak.
(b) One made a knight, for some other than military
distinction or service.
{Carpet moth} (Zool.), the larva of an insect which feeds on
carpets and other woolen goods. There are several kinds.
Some are the larv[ae] of species of {Tinea} (as {Tinea
tapetzella}); others of beetles, esp. {Anthrenus}.
{Carpet snake} (Zool.), an Australian snake. See {Diamond
snake}, under {Diamond}.
{Carpet sweeper}, an apparatus or device for sweeping
carpets.
{To be on the carpet}, to be under consideration; to be the
subject of deliberation; to be in sight; -- an expression
derived from the use of carpets as table cover.
{Brussels carpet}. See under {Brussels}.
[1913 Webster]