Make Your Point > Archived Issues > IMBRICATE
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pronounce
IMBRICATE:
Say it "IM brih kate."
To hear it, click here.
connect this word to others:
If you're placing thing side by side, you're j_x__posing them. (Could you recall that word? It has Latin bits meaning "to place beside, or to place very near.")
And if you're placing things side by side again and again, letting them overlap like roofing tiles, you're imbricating them.
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
definition:
In Latin, imber means "rainwater, or heavy rain," and imbricem means "a curved roof tile, made to shed rain."
In English, going back to the 1600s, we've used the adjective "imbricate" (IM bruh cut) to mean "overlapping, like roof tiles that shed rain." We talk about imbricate roof tiles, imbricate leaves, and imbricate scales on fish and pinecones.
"Imbricate" is a verb, too, pronounced "IM brih kate." To imbricate things is to place them in an overlapping pattern, like roof tiles. And when things imbricate, they line themselves up in an overlapping pattern.
Figuratively speaking, then, to imbricate things is to bring them together in a neat, methodical, permanent way, as if you're overlapping them like roof tiles.
grammatical bits:
Part of speech:
Most often a verb: "They imbricated the papers;" "The petals are imbricated;" "The scales imbricate."
Sometimes an adjective: "This species has imbricate scales."
Other forms:
Imbricated, imbricating, imbrication.
how to use it:
"Imbricate" is a rare word.
But use it anyway! It's easy for your readers to understand, even if they don't know it. If they misinterpret it as "bricked together," that's pretty darn close to the actual meaning, "tiled together," so your meaning comes across just fine.
The tone is precise and scientific.
Used literally, it helps you describe the neat, dense arrangement of tiles, leaves, petals, spikes, plates, feathers, scales, or fungi caps.
Used figuratively, it helps you express that certain things (often two things) are linked in a neat, precise, purposeful, permanent way, as if designed that way by God, nature, or a skilled roofing contractor. You might talk about people and their creations imbricating two things. Or, talk about how one thing is imbricated with another thing.
examples:
"[Arpita Singh's] forceful, thickly daubed paintings of fleshy and contorted women imbricate mythic and everyday imagery."
— Jason Farago, New York Times, 18 November 2020
"Space travel was imbricated with science fiction, with dreams of heroic courage that continue to fuel unscientific fantasies."
— Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway, Scientific American, 1 September 2020
has this page helped you understand "imbricate"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "imbricate" without saying "overlap" or "woven."
try it out:
In Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time, the narrator tastes a madeleine dipped in tea, then suddenly flashes back to his childhood: to memories of sharing the same treat with his aunt on Sunday mornings.
The taste, he found, was imbricated with the memory.
See if you can describe a similar experience in your own life.
Fill in the blanks: "In my mind, (some smell, taste, or sound) is imbricated with (some feeling, experience, or memory)."
Example: "In my mind, the opening notes of Ani DiFranco's 'Fixing Her Hair' are imbricated with memories of tenth grade: driving to school in the mornings with my sister and our best friend, singing along with the tape, sharing dollops of Country Apple hand lotion and trying not to get sweaty before classes started."
before you review, play:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
Our game for this month is Obits Tidbits!
Check out a tidbit from the obituary of an extraordinary person, and see if you can name who it was. To see the answer, scroll all the way down.
From the Economist: "On the supposition that racism had waned enough to discard it... she wrote that it was 'like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet.'"
If you need some hints, highlight the hidden white text below.
This obituary was published on… September 23rd, 2020.
This person's initials are… R. B. G.
review this word:
A. SEPARATED.
B. SOLIDIFIED.
C. SIMPLIFIED.
2.
Paul McAdory describes his pet _____ as "complexly imbricated." Or he might have been talking about our experience with _____ in general. Probably both.
A. snake .. snakes
B. ferret .. ferrets
C. tarantula .. spiders
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
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36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
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How to improve any sentence.
How to motivate our kids to write.
How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.
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A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
If you're placing thing side by side, you're j_x__posing them. (Could you recall that word? It has Latin bits meaning "to place beside, or to place very near.")
In Latin, imber means "rainwater, or heavy rain," and imbricem means "a curved roof tile, made to shed rain."
"Imbricate" is a verb, too, pronounced "IM brih kate." To imbricate things is to place them in an overlapping pattern, like roof tiles. And when things imbricate, they line themselves up in an overlapping pattern.
Part of speech:
"Imbricate" is a rare word.
"[Arpita Singh's] forceful, thickly daubed paintings of fleshy and contorted women imbricate mythic and everyday imagery."
Explain the meaning of "imbricate" without saying "overlap" or "woven."
In Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time, the narrator tastes a madeleine dipped in tea, then suddenly flashes back to his childhood: to memories of sharing the same treat with his aunt on Sunday mornings.
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. |