Brocade is a luxurious fabric woven with raised patterns, often featuring flowers, vines, or geometric designs that stand out from the background. The decorative patterns are created by weaving threads of silk, gold, or silver right into the cloth itself, making them part of the fabric rather than printed or sewn on afterward.

If you've ever seen a fancy curtain, an ornate couch, or a historical costume where the design seems almost three-dimensional and catches the light beautifully, you were probably looking at brocade. The fabric has a rich, heavy feel and often shimmers because of the metallic threads woven through it.

Brocade originated in China and became extremely popular in medieval Europe, where royalty and wealthy nobles wore brocaded gowns and doublets to display their status. Creating brocade required such skill and time that only the wealthy could afford it. Today, you might see brocade used for special occasion clothing, upholstery, or decorative pillows.

The word can also be used as a verb: a fabric brocaded with golden roses means those roses were woven directly into the material as it was made.