inlay

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle), Verb (transitive)
• HYPHEN: in=lay

CIDE DICTIONARY

inlay, v. t. 

 To lay within; hence, to insert, as pieces of pearl, ivory, mother-of-pearl, choice woods, or the like, in a groundwork of some other material; to form an ornamental surface; to diversify or adorn with insertions.  [1913 Webster]
"Look, how the floor of heaven
Is thick inlaid with patines of bright gold."  [1913 Webster]
"But these things are . . . borrowed by the monks to inlay their story."  [1913 Webster]

inlay, n. 

 Matter or pieces of wood, ivory, etc., inlaid, or prepared for inlaying; that which is inserted or inlaid for ornament or variety; as, ornamented with ivory inlay.  [1913 Webster]
"Crocus and hyacinth with rich inlay
Broidered the ground."  [1913 Webster]
"The sloping of the moonlit sward
Was damask work, and deep inlay
Of braided blooms."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

inlay, v. & n.
--v.tr. (past and past part. inlaid)
1 a (usu. foll. by in) embed (a thing in another) so that the surfaces are even. b (usu. foll. by with) ornament (a thing with inlaid work).
2 (as inlaid adj.) (of a piece of furniture etc.) ornamented by inlaying.
3 insert (a page, an illustration, etc.) in a space cut in a larger thicker page.
--n.
1 inlaid work.
2 material inlaid.
3 a filling shaped to fit a tooth-cavity.

Derivative

inlayer n.

Etymology

IN-(2) + LAY(1)

THESAURUS

inlay

bed, bed in, bush, bushing, ceil, doubling, doublure, embed, face, facing, feather, fill, filler, filling, fit in, fur, implant, infix, inlayer, insert, insertion, inset, insole, interline, interlineation, line, liner, lining, load, pack, packing, pad, padding, stuff, stuffing, tessellate, tessera, wad, wadding, wainscot

ROGET THESAURUS

inlay

Variegation

VB be variegated, variegate, stripe, streak, checker, chequer, bespeckle, speckle, besprinkle, sprinkle, stipple, maculate, dot, bespot, tattoo, inlay, damascene, embroider, braid, quilt.