brasswork

English

Etymology

brass +‎ -work

Noun

brasswork (uncountable)

1. Work or ornamentation made of brass.
   • 1614–1615, Homer, “(please specify the book number)”, in Geo[rge] Chapman, transl., Homer’s Odysses. […], London: […] Rich[ard] Field [and William Jaggard], for Nathaniell Butter, published 1615, →OCLC; republished in The Odysseys of Homer, […], volumes (please specify the book number), London: John Russell Smith, […], 1857, →OCLC:

     The brasswork here, how rich it is in beams, / And how, besides, it makes the whole house sound.

     The spelling has been modernized.