embroidered

Word family

• embroider
  verbB1
• embroidery
  nounB1
• embroiderer
  nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

While all four words involve working with fabric or adding visual interest, 'embroider' is the only one specific to creating decorative patterns with thread on cloth. 'Sew' is the most general word for joining fabric together, whether for mending, hemming, or making clothes — you sew a button on, but you embroider a flower. 'Stitch' overlaps with sew but is often used for medical sutures or quick repairs, and rarely carries the artistic meaning of embroider. 'Decorate' is far broader: you can decorate a room, a cake, or a notebook, not just fabric. For example: 'The tailor sewed the hem of the skirt' (repair), but 'The artisan embroidered a lotus pattern on the silk scarf' (artistic needlework).

Common collocations

Etymology

From Middle English 'embrouden', from Old French 'embroder' ('en-' = in + 'brodre' = to weave, from Frankish 'brod' = needle). The literal sense of decorating fabric with needlework dates from the 15th century. The figurative sense of embellishing a story emerged in the mid-17th century, drawing on the idea of adding decorative — and not necessarily true — details.