rockworkn.
/ˈrɒkwəːk/, U.S. /ˈrɑkˌwərk/ 1.
a. Ornamental or decorative work resembling rocks or shells. Cf. shell-work n. 1.In early use chiefly with reference to embroidery.
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > ornamental art and craft > [noun] > work in specific medium
bonework1557
shell-work1611
rockwork1615
feather-work1665
quillwork1688
boss-work1697
ice work1729
wafer-work1789
filigree paper1800
feather-mosaic1843
cut paper1847
plumagery1854
leather-work1856
graffito1863
cuerda seca1911
papercraft1917
barbola1927
rosemaling1933
cuenca1939
penwork1969
1615 in W. Foster Lett. received by E. India Co. (1899) III. 16 Some pillow sweetbag or other like thing of the rockwork used lately in England.
1654 E. Gayton Pleasant Notes Don Quixot ii. vi. 60 They, who..busie themselves in rock-work, in Civet-baskets, in waxen Fruit-Trees.
1673 Gentlewomans Compan. 9 All the Productions of the Needle, with all the curious devices of Wax-work, Rock-work, Moss-work, Cabinet-work, Bengle-work, &c.
1697 C. K. Art's Master-piece 78 Through any small Sieve shake the Colours you design, whilst the Varnish is wet, and sweep up in Rock-Work all Speckles that straggle on the edges.
1773 J. Coxe Catal. Mechanism & Jewellery Museum at Spring-Gardens 23 An elegant Pedestal, compos'd of cristal Pillars, Rockwork, Corals, reflecting Mirrours, [etc.].
1868 Official Catal. National Exhib. Wks. Art at Leeds 281 Four tiers of shells and brackets, surmounted by Venus and Cupid on rockwork stand.
1925 Good Housek. June 261/1 In the furniture,..appear the scrolls, shells, rockwork, and other rococo designs which Chippendale so often employed.
2007 D. FitzGerald & J. Peill Irish Furnit. ii. 260 They both have unusual crescents filling the pediments and pierced rockwork on the top of the cresting.
b. Rocks and shells used to create ornamental figures and designs as decoration for a grotto or other garden feature. Cf. rocaille n. Chiefly historical after 18th cent.
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the world > food and drink > farming > gardening > garden > [noun] > rock garden
rockwork1632
rockery1794
alpine garden1801
rock garden1821
stonery1833
moraine1907
1632 A. Townshend Tempe Restord 4 The first order of marble Pillasters. Betweene which were neeces of rocke worke and Statues.
1699 tr. F. de S. de la Mothe-Fénelon Adventures Telemachus 6 The Grotto was cut into divers Vaults within the Rock, which were incrusted with Shells and Rockwork.
1734 E. S. Rowe Friendship in Death (ed. 2) ii. v. 27 The Sides of this fine Cavity were Rock-work, adorned with Branches of Coral, Mother-of-Pearl, and a great Variety of counterfeit Gems.
1759 C. Powys Passages from Diaries Mrs. Powys (1899) 34 Fountain, with rock-work and the largest gold and silver fish I ever saw.
1790 W. Wrighte Grotesque Archit. 9 A cascade..decorated with rock-work.
1906 P. de Nolhac Versailles & Trianon 197 There were six rows of seats arranged in the form of an amphitheatre, the back of which was a grotto of rockwork.
2001 H. Jackson Shell Houses & Grottoes 9 It was covered with tufa and rockwork later in the eighteenth century to give it a more rustic and subterranean appearance.
2.
a. A natural mass or group of rocks. Also figurative and in extended use.
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the world > the earth > structure of the earth > structural features > mass > [noun] > of rock
stonec825
rockOE
rockwork1705
rockery1856
1705 Philos. Trans. 1704–05 (Royal Soc.) 24 1954 These are pretty Shells, and frequently found in Rock-work.
1761 Chron. in Ann. Reg. 233/2 Their majesties' desert, in which the confectioner had lavished all his ingenuity in rock work and emblematical figures.
1781 W. Cowper Charity 96 This genial intercourse..softens human rock-work into men.
1841 Penny Cycl. XX. 53/2 Hints should be taken from the natural rock-work that often meets us by the mountain side.
1890 Cent. Mag. Aug. 490/2 We come within a few miles to the Vernal and Nevada falls..set in the midst of most novel and sublime rock-work.
1947 M. S. Douglas Everglades i. 31 Thousands and hundreds of thousands of acres of fantastic rockwork.
1986 J. D. Hunt Garden & Grove iv. 45 Inside these larger alcoves tufa and pumice stone simulate natural rockwork.
b. Stones roughly piled together in imitation of natural rocks as an ornamental garden feature, esp. a rockery.
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1833 J. C. Loudon Encycl. Cottage Archit. §1979 Rockwork is one of the most common ornaments of gardens.
1845 Florist 225 Maritime plants can be planted appropriately at intervals round the pond at the base of the rock~work.
1880 J. Fothergill Probation ii. xii A bench situated in a kind of rockery;..the seat was a little retired in a hollow of the rockwork.
1936 Amer. Home Feb. 12/2 At the top waterfall which is nearly five feet high, rough concrete steps were formed as a foundation for the rockwork.
1961 Archit. Hist. 4 90 They were conducted..through a veritable forest of tropical vegetation, complete with naturalistic rockwork, pools of water, fountains and unique rock crystals.
1993 A. Archer-Wills Water Gardener 69 The golden rule of rockwork is that a few large pieces of stone are more convincing than lots of small ones.
2003 S. Paulson in Rock Garden Design & Constr. ii. 114 Substantial plants such as dwarf conifers that are to be grown in the interstices of the rockwork should be placed during construction.
3. Architecture. Masonry with a rough projecting face, giving the appearance of natural, freshly quarried rock. Cf. rustic work n. at rustic adj. and n. Compounds 1. Now rare.
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society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > building or constructing with stone > [noun] > stonework or masonry > types of
ashlar-work1398
rough wall1398
keying1483
corbelling1548
rustic1610
channel1611
rustic work1615
ledge1624
coffer-work1668
rubble work1675
canal1723
rockwork1755
ashlaring1758
rubble1815
ragwork1840
striped work1842
1755 London in Miniature 99 The Rock-work, or Rustick, can never be better introduced than in Buildings by the Side of the Water.
1842 J. Gwilt Encycl. Archit. iii. i. 735 Rustics and rockwork on columns are rarely justifiable except for the purpose of some particular picturesque effect.
1999 J. S. Curl Dict. Archit. 558/1 Rock-work, erroneous term for rock-faced or quarry-faced ashlar.
4. Rock climbing; (also) the skills and techniques associated with this; rock craft.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > mountaineering or climbing > [noun] > skill
rockwork1864
rock craft1892
snow-craft1892
rope-work1901
1864 J. Ball Central Alps ix. 253/1 The rockwork on either side of the pass is somewhat difficult, and the assistance of an experienced guide is indispensable.
1898 Westm. Gaz. 30 Mar. 3/2 Though the climbs are short they afford excellent practice for learning rock work of the most difficult kind.
1901 G. Bell Let. Aug. (1927) I. 123 It was the greatest fun, very difficult rock work.
1978 R. Graves Bushcraft i. 23 The ‘Absyle’ is used for rock work, generally for descending, though it can be used on some faces for ascent.
1993 F. Beckey Mount McKinley (1998) xvi. 206 The climbing here was the steepest and most difficult rockwork on the route.
Compounds
General attributive and objective (in senses 1b, 2b).
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1822 J. C. Loudon Encycl. Gardening 1425/2 Mitella, N. Amer. rockwork plants, which prefer light rich soil.
1882 Garden 1 Apr. 211/2 I wish to warn all rockwork planters against this evening Primrose.
1904 E. Wharton Ital. Villas iii.103 This tank is surmounted by a statue of Thetis on a rock-work throne, in a niche formed in the basement of the pavillion.
1972 Archit. Hist. 15 25 A meandering Kentian stream that was crossed by a rustic rock-work bridge.
1990 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 7 Sept. (Spring Gardening Annual Suppl.) 6/2 Garden paths, rockwork features, tennis courts, pergolas.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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