à jouradj.adv.
/əˈʒʊə/, U.S. /əˈʒʊ(ə)r/, Scottish English /əˈʒur/ Originally Scottish.
Having perforations or holes, pierced; spec. designating an ornamental openwork pattern on metalwork, leather work, etc., or the technique by which it is produced. Often used postpositively. Also as adv.: in this manner, so as to have such piercings or openwork. Cf. plique à jour n.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > ornamental art and craft > openwork > [adjective]
pouncedc1410
à jour1566
openwork1763
windowed1849
1566 in W. Fraser Lennox (1874) II. 463 Ony kind of pasimentis..plane or ajower.
1573 in J. Robertson Inuentaires Royne Descosse (1863) p. cli Ane sapheir a jour.
1815 L. Simond Jrnl. Tour Great Brit. II. 66 Boldness, lightness, and prodigious high finish of the carving,—quite sharp, and à jour.
1850 C. M. Yonge Kenneth ix. 98 A coat and shoes à jour, blanket buskins, and a coat with a fringe of rags, are not precisely the dress I would have selected for my first introduction to a fair lady.
1889 Cent. Dict. A jour.., said of carving where the work is carried through the solid mass, leaving open spaces, and also of embroidery, metal-work, or any other fabric.
1912 B. Laufer Jade x. 310 We further observe four designs of plum-blossoms, of the more conventional character, carved à jour in the wings.
1937 Burlington Mag. Oct. 193/2 The discovery of the play of light and shade obtained by deep undercutting..and what may be termed à jour methods profoundly modified the conception of the capital.
1994 Antique Collector June 62/1 Around 1800 jewellers realized that the fire of a diamond was much enhanced by setting it à jour—open backed, held by a silver collet or claws.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, September 2012; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.adv.1566