1. gen. Work produced by cutting or carving.
1662. Evelyn, Chalcogr., 6. Those who wrought any of these hollow cut-works, were by some call’d Cavatores, and Graphatores.
1832. Miss Mitford, Village (1863), 509. The Valentine … a raised group of roses and heart’s-ease, executed on a kind of paper cut-work.
1877. N. W. Linc. Gloss., Cutwork, (1) open-work carving.
2. a. The embroidery with elaborately cut-out edges in vogue towards the close of the 14th c. b. A kind of openwork embroidery or lace worn in the latter part of the 16th and in the 17th c. c. Appliqué work, in which the pattern is cut out and sewed upon the ground.
1470. Harding, Chron., CXCIII. iii. Cut werke was greate both in court and tounes, Bothe in menes hoddis and also in their gounes.
1576. Gascoigne, Steel Gl. (Arb.), 71. Baudkin, broydrie, cutworks, nor conceits.
1621–51. Burton, Anat. Mel., II. ii. IV. Women … haue curious needle-workes, cut-workes, bone-lace, &c. to busie themselues about.
1698. Lond. Gaz., No. 3373/3. An Act for rendring the Laws more Effectual, for Preventing the Importation of Foreign Bone-lace, Loom-lace, Needle-work, Point, and Cut-work.
1869. Mrs. Palliser, Lace, i. 5. There is preserved in the cathedral at Prague an altar-cloth of embroidery and cutwork worked by Anne of Bohemia, queen of Richard II.
1876. Rock, Text. Fabr., 88. When anything … is wrought by itself upon a separate piece of silk or canvas and afterwards sewed on to the vestment … it comes to be known as cut-work.
attrib. 1599. B. Jonson, Ev. Man out of Hum., IV. iv. Six purls of an Italian cut-work band I wore.
1624. Massinger, Parl. Love, II. i. An Italian cutwork smock.
1820. Scott, Monast., xvi. Three cut-work shirts with falling bands.
† 3. Flower-beds elaborately cut into patterns of which the details are outlined in turf. Much in vogue about 1700. Obs.
1693. Evelyn, De la Quint. Compl. Gard., Dict., Cutworks, are Flower Plots, or Grass plot consisting of several pieces cut into various pleasing figures answering one another, like cut work, made by Women.
1712. J. James, trans. Le Blond’s Gardening, 34. Parterres of Cut work … differ from the others, in that all the Parts which compose them should be cut with Symmetry.
1727. Bradley, Fam. Dict., s.v. Flower, It must be always observ’d that Ranunculus’s and Tulips be put apart, in particular Cut-works, and in separate Beds.
† 4. Work in cutting, hacking or slashing. Obs.
1620. Fletcher, Chances, II. iii. If he cut here, I’ll find him cut-work.
5. In Printing. Woodcut-work, i.e., the printing of work containing cuts or illustrations. [f. CUT sb.2 20.]
