brussels lace

Brussels lace
    n 1: fine lace with a raised or applique design
    

Lace \Lace\ (l[=a]s), n. [OE. las, OF. laz, F. lacs, dim. lacet,
   fr. L. laqueus noose, snare; prob. akin to lacere to entice.
   Cf. {Delight}, {Elicit}, {Lasso}, {Latchet}.]
   1. That which binds or holds, especially by being interwoven;
      a string, cord, or band, usually one passing through
      eyelet or other holes, and used in drawing and holding
      together parts of a garment, of a shoe, of a machine belt,
      etc.
      [1913 Webster]

            His hat hung at his back down by a lace. --Chaucer.
      [1913 Webster]

            For striving more, the more in laces strong
            Himself he tied.                      --Spenser.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. A snare or gin, especially one made of interwoven cords; a
      net. [Obs.] --Fairfax.
      [1913 Webster]

            Vulcanus had caught thee [Venus] in his lace.
                                                  --Chaucer.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. A fabric of fine threads of linen, silk, cotton, etc.,
      often ornamented with figures; a delicate tissue of
      thread, much worn as an ornament of dress.
      [1913 Webster]

            Our English dames are much given to the wearing of
            costly laces.                         --Bacon.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. Spirits added to coffee or some other beverage. [Old
      Slang] --Addison.
      [1913 Webster]

   {Alen[,c]on lace}, a kind of point lace, entirely of
      needlework, first made at Alen[,c]on in France, in the
      17th century. It is very durable and of great beauty and
      cost.

   {Bone lace}, {Brussels lace}, etc. See under {Bone},
      {Brussels}, etc.

   {Gold lace}, or {Silver lace}, lace having warp threads of
      silk, or silk and cotton, and a weft of silk threads
      covered with gold (or silver), or with gilt.

   {Lace leather}, thin, oil-tanned leather suitable for cutting
      into lacings for machine belts.

   {Lace lizard} (Zool.), a large, aquatic, Australian lizard
      ({Hydrosaurus giganteus}), allied to the monitors.

   {Lace paper}, paper with an openwork design in imitation of
      lace.

   {Lace piece} (Shipbuilding), the main piece of timber which
      supports the beak or head projecting beyond the stem of a
      ship.

   {Lace pillow}, and {Pillow lace}. See under {Pillow}.
      [1913 Webster]
    

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]