Meaning & use
window lattice
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Meanings
nouncountable
A frame of thin strips of wood, metal, or stone that cross each other to form a pattern in or over a window.
Grammar: Countable: say 'a window lattice' for one, 'window lattices' for more than one.
Patterns
- a wooden window lattice
- a window lattice over something
- fit a window lattice
The old farmhouse still has a wooden window lattice with diamond-shaped openings.
Sunlight fell in squares on the floor, cast by the window lattice.
They replaced the broken window lattice with a metal one that needs less care.
nouncountable
The criss-cross or diamond pattern itself, made by such strips, that you see on a window.
Grammar: Often used with 'pattern' or 'design': 'a lattice pattern'.
Patterns
- a lattice pattern
- a diamond lattice design
- the lattice of a window
The glass was frosted and decorated with a pale blue window lattice pattern.
From outside, the window lattice made the whole house look older than it was.
She chose curtains printed with a simple window lattice design.
nouncountabletechnical
In building and engineering, the open crossed framework that supports or decorates a window opening.
Grammar: Technical use; often appears in descriptions of structures and restoration work.
Patterns
- a load-bearing window lattice
- restore a window lattice
- a steel window lattice
The engineers checked whether the stone window lattice could still carry the weight above it.
Restorers copied the original window lattice from photographs taken a century ago.
A steel window lattice was added to strengthen the tall opening.
Word forms
| plural | window lattices |
|---|
Common combinations
- wooden window lattice
- A wooden window lattice covered the small opening beside the door.
- window lattice pattern
- The tiles were laid in a window lattice pattern.
- decorative window lattice
- A decorative window lattice ran along the top of the wall.
- cast a shadow
- The window lattice cast a shadow of little diamonds across the table.
- restore a window lattice
- Craftsmen were hired to restore the window lattice exactly as it had been.
Synonyms and how they differ
- grille
- A grille is a metal bars or mesh screen, usually for protection or ventilation, and need not form a decorative crossed pattern like a window lattice.
- latticework
- Latticework means the same kind of crossed strips but as a material or general feature, so it is used for fences and screens as well as windows.
- muntin
- A muntin is the single thin bar that divides panes of glass; a window lattice is the whole crossed framework of such bars.
Word family
- lattice noun
- The general crossed-strip structure or pattern, of which a window lattice is one type.
- latticework noun
- Crossed strips considered as a material or decorative feature.
- latticed adjective
- Having a crossed-strip pattern, as in 'a latticed window'.
Commonly confused: window lattice or lettuce? window lattice or lattice?
window lattice vs lettuce
These sound similar in fast speech but are unrelated: lettuce is a leafy vegetable, while a lattice is a crossed framework.
window lattice vs lattice
'Lattice' alone can mean any crossed pattern, such as in a fence or a crystal; 'window lattice' always refers specifically to the one in or over a window.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'window lattice' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A window lattice is a crossed framework in a window, so light passing through it in shapes is the natural use. Option A confuses it with 'lettuce', option C treats it as a verb, and option D treats it as a person.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “window lattice”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.