frostwork

noun — 2 senses

frostwork

noun

Etymology From frost + -work.

1

Any naturally occurring intricate pattern of ice crystals.

  • Frostwork keeps its place on the window within three feet of the stove all day in my chamber.1888, H. Thoreau, Winter: From the Journal of Henry D. Thoreau, Houghton, Mifflin and Company, page 343:
2

Any pattern that resembles a frost formation.

  • More delicate frostwork, this time in the form of hairlike needles of calcite, occurs near the Pearly Gates. Here, as in all caves under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service, you are asked not to touch or handle the cave formations.1968, William Henry Matthews, A guide to the national parks: their landscape and geology, page 236:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.