Lace is a delicate fabric with open patterns of holes, often used for clothing or decorations; it can also mean a string or cord used to tie things, like a shoelace.
From Old French *las*, meaning a net, cord, or snare, from Latin *laqueus* for a noose or trap. The idea of looping and interlacing threads led to its use for the decorative fabric we call lace today.
The same root that gave us pretty lace also gave us the idea of a *lasso*—both involve looping and catching. Even shoelaces share this ancestry, reminding you that tying your shoes is a tiny act of looping craftsmanship.
Lace has long been associated with femininity and women’s clothing in European fashion, especially from the Renaissance onward, when lace-making was feminized labor though often controlled and profited from by men. The association of lace with delicacy and fragility has sometimes been used metaphorically to stereotype women as ornamental or weak.
Use 'lace' neutrally for the material or pattern, and avoid using it metaphorically to imply weakness, frivolity, or gendered stereotypes. When discussing lace-making, acknowledge the skilled labor, often by women, behind its production.
Lace-making was and is a highly skilled craft, with many innovations and economic contributions driven by women artisans whose work was historically undervalued or anonymized.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.