Now poetic. Forms: 4–5 brouderie, -ri, -ry, browdrye, 5 brawdrye, broodery, broiderie, -rye, 6 broadery, 7–8 brodery, 7 broydery, 7– broidery, (9 poet. broidry). [a. OF. brouderie, broderie (14th c. in Littré), f. brouder, broder; see BROIDER and -ERY. The form broidery (for the abnormal oi of which see BROIDEN, BROID) was common in Purvey, and then rare till after 1600: cf. BROIDER.]
1. Ornamental needle-work wrought upon cloth; the art or practice of embroidering cloth; embroidery. Also attrib., as in broidery work, frame.
1382. Wyclif, Ex. xxxv. 33. Werkis of carpentarye, of browdrye, and of werkyng with needlis. Ibid. (1388), xxviii. 39. Thou schalt make also a girdil, bi werk of broiderye [v.r. broudery, brouderi werk].
1490. Caxton, Eneydos, xv. 55. A grete mauntelle of veluet cramoysin pourfylled rounde aboute wyth brawdrye, moche enryched wyth precyous stones.
1496. Dives & Paup. (W. de W.), I. x. 41. I suppose that sayntes in erthe were not arrayed … with clothes of broodery.
1616. W. Browne, Brit. Past., II. iii. Unknown was then the Phrygian brodery.
1621. Ainsworth, Annot. Pentat., Gen. xlvi. 4. In shrowds of silke, or cloth of gold or broyderie.
1708. J. Chamberlayne, St. Gt. Brit., II. III. vi. (1743), 416. No other persons wear broidery, pearls, or bullion.
1843. Tennyson, Day-Dr., Prol. Then take the broidery-frame, and add A crimson to the quaint Macaw.
1856. Mrs. Browning, Aur. Leigh, III. 14. Youth’s fine linen and fair broidery.
1870. R. Ellis, Catullus, lxiv. 50. It was a broidery freak’d with tissue of images olden. Ibid., lxviii. 136. Lustrous, array’d in bright broidery, saffron of hue.
2. fig.
1782. Burney, Hist. Mus., II. 151. The graces, broderies, and flourishes of florid song.
1830. Tennyson, Dirge, vi. Rare broidry of the purple clover.
1844. Kinglake, Eöthen, iii. (1878), 46. The golden broidery of oriental praises.
