G

gaba, gabeh   Coarsely woven rugs from south-western Iran made of un-dyed wool.

garden carpet   A design originally thought to represent the layout of a Persian garden with flower beds and streams.  The term now refers to any rug that includes rectangular compartments, each containing some floral or botanic motif.

gauge rod   a rod used in Tibetan pile weaving.  Pile yarn is looped over the gauge rod and around the warps. When the loops over the gauge rod are cut, a pile of consistent height is produced.

gereh (P)   Knot.

gereh zadan (P)   To knot into fringes.

Ghirodes knot   See "symmetric knot."

gillim   See "killim."

ground   The interlaced combination of warp and weft that is structurally essential to the fabric.  In pile rugs, the "ground" may be referred to as the "foundation."

guard stripe   Stripes or lesser borders on either side of the main border.  See "border."

gul, gol   A medallion of octagonal or angular shape used in Turkmen designs.  Often, the gul is repeated to form an all-over pattern in the field.  Certain Turkmen tribes are associated with specific guls as emblems of the tribe.

hali (T)   Carpet (Pronounced "ha-la").

hatchli, hatchlu   See "katchli."

heybeh (T)   Saddle bag.

Herati pattern   A design, usually repeated, consisting of a flower centered in a diamond with curving lanceolate leaves located outside the diamond and parallel to each side.

hue   Color from the spectrum or combination of such colors.

H

ikat   A process in which fabric designs are created by tie-dyeing warps and/or wefts before they are used on the looms.  A fabric produced by this process.

indigo   A blue vegetable dye derived form a member of the pea family,.  A yellow juice from the plant oxidizes to blue upon exposure to air.  Indigo was chemically synthesized in 1880.

J

jijim, djidjim (T)   A flatweave of narrow strips sewn together.

jolam (T)   See "tent band."

jollar   See "kapunuk."

joval, juval, tschoval, chuval (T)   A large bag, approximately 3 ft. by 6 ft., one surface of which may be covered with pile, used to store clothing.  Often, only the pile face has survived.

jufti knot   A symmetric or asymmetric knot tied over four warps instead of the usual two warps.

jute   A fiber from the stem of the plant, Corchorus capsularis.  Jute has been used in the pile of rugs form India.

K

kallehgi, kelley (P)   A long, narrow carpet in which length is at least twice the width, 5 ft. by 10 ft. by 24 ft., for example.

kapunuk   A pile fabric decoration for the inside of Turkmen tent doors.

kardak (P)   Carpet trimming knife.

katchli, hatchlu, hatchli (T)   The cross formed by the four panels in the design of an ensi.

kejebe (T)   A tent-like enclosure for the bride on the back of a camel in a Turkmen wedding procession.  The kejebe is represented in Turkmen rugs by shape

kelley (P)   See "kalleghi."

kenareh (P)   Persian term for a runner, 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 ft. wide.

kermes (P)   A red dye prepared from a scale insect, Coccul ilicis, which infests oak trees.

khorjin, kharjin (P)   A saddle bag.

killim   A tapestry-woven rug.  Also, the flatweave end of a rug.

kork (P)   Underhair of a goat or fine belly wool of a sheep.

kufic (A)   Used to describe border designs that are thought to be derived from an Arabic script.

L

lac   a red dye made from a scale insect, Coccus laccae.

lachak torang (P)Any design with corner and central medallions.

lazy lines   Diagonal lines visible from the back of the rug caused by successive rows of turnarounds of discontinuous wefts.  This occurs when only a portion of the width of a rug is woven at one time.

M

macrame (A)   Fringe.  Used to describe off-loom weaving and knot work.  From the Arabic for "knot."

madder   A red dye extracted from the root of the madder plant, Rubia tinctorium.  Madder dye has been synthesized at the alzarine colors.  "Alizari" is Arabic for madder.

mafrash (A)   A small bag, often with a pile face.  A traveling or bedding bag.

main border   See "border."

mako (P)   Weaver's shuttle.

Manchester   See "merino."

matn (P)   Ground or field of a rug.

mazarlik (T)   A Turkish carpet with representations of trees and houses.  Some believe such carpets are used enfold the dead when carried to a cemetery.

meander   Any of a wide variety of continuous border designs that do not fill the band they occupy but alternate from side to side.

medallion   a large enclosed portion of a design usually located in the center of a field.  Common shapes are diamonds, octagons and hexagons.

"Memling" gul   a motif named after Hans Memlinc, a 15th century artist whose works show rugs designed with the motif.

mercerized   Cotton thread whose strength and gloss has been increased by treating with alkali under pressure.

merino   A breed of sheep producing very fine wool.  The merino was first raised in Spain.  Australian merino wool is used in some rugs from Iran and India.  "Manchester" is merino wool processed in Manchester, England.

mian farsh (P)   The middle carpet in the traditional Persian rug arrangement.  See "audience rug."

mihrab (P)   The prayer niche in a mosque represented by the arch in a prayer rug.

millefleurs   A design composed of many flower blossoms, often occupying the field of a prayer rug, found in rugs from Iran and India.

mina khani (P)   An over-all pattern consisting of two or more flower blossoms connected by a diamond lattice.

M

mir-i-boteh (P)   A design of multiple rows of botehs.

mohair, mouher (P)   Yarn or fabric made from the fleece of the Angora goat.

mordant    A product used in dyeing that reacts with the dye and fiber to fix the dye permanently to the fiber.  Different mordants produce different hues and shades from the same dye.

morghi (P)   A hen.  A design employing images of chickens.

mori (T)   A term describing the weave of certain Pakistani and Indian rugs, specifically the absence of warp offset in these rugs.

muska (T)   A triangular design, supposed to have magical properties, derived from the shape of a pouch used to carry Koranic inscriptions or religious or shamanistic relics.