(pronounced FREHT-werk)

Fretwork is a decorative “network” (an easy way to remember it) of work designed with frets, which are mostly carved in low relief on a solid background of wood, metal, or stone. It is also used, however, to describe ornamental, interlaced openwork, often geometric in design. The openings are usually cut out with a fretsaw, jigsaw or scrollsaw, and decorate everything from furniture and musical instruments to buildings and fenestration.