filigree: [17] Etymologically, filigree describes very accurately how filigree was originally made: it was delicate ornamental work constructed from threads (Latin filum) and beads (Latin grānum ‘grain, seed’). The Italian descendants of these two Latin words were combined to form filigrana, which passed into English via French as filigrane. This gradually metamorphosed through filigreen to filigree. => file, grain[filigree etymology, filigree origin, 英语词源]