Reference
Rug Terminology Glossary
The rug world has its own vocabulary. Here are the terms you’ll hear from a dealer, appraiser, or restorer — 59 of them, defined in plain language. New to caring for a rug? Start with our complete rug care guide.
A
- Abrash
- Natural variation in color across a rug, caused by different dye lots of hand-spun wool. A hallmark of a genuine handmade rug, not a defect.
- Aniline dye
- An early synthetic dye. Some early anilines were fugitive (prone to fading or bleeding), which is why dye testing before cleaning matters.
- Antique
- In the rug trade, a rug at least 100 years old. Rugs 50–99 years old are usually called "semi-antique."
- Art silk
- Short for "artificial silk" — usually mercerized cotton or rayon (viscose) made to mimic silk's sheen. It pulps and browns when wet and is far less durable than real silk.
B
- Blocking
- A restoration process that re-squares and flattens a rug that has become crooked, rippled, or curled, by wetting and stretching it on a frame.
- Boteh
- A teardrop or paisley motif with a curved tip, one of the oldest and most widespread Persian design elements.
C
- Carding
- The process of combing raw wool fibers so they lie parallel before spinning into yarn.
- Cartoon
- The scaled design drawing a weaver follows knot-by-knot when making a finely detailed rug.
- Cellulosic browning
- Brown discoloration in cotton, jute, and other plant fibers caused by slow drying, where natural sugars wick to the surface. Preventable with proper drying.
- Coir
- A coarse natural fiber made from coconut husk, used in rough, durable matting. Like other plant fibers, it should be kept dry.
- Color run
- Dye from one area bleeding into another, usually from a wet accident or improper cleaning. Often correctable by a specialist if caught early.
D
- Dhurrie
- A flatwoven (pile-less) rug, traditionally Indian, usually in cotton or wool.
- Dry rot
- Deterioration of a rug's foundation from prolonged moisture, leaving it brittle and prone to cracking. Common in rugs stored damp.
- Dye lot
- A single batch of yarn dyed together. Slight differences between lots produce abrash in handmade rugs.
F
- Field
- The main central area of a rug, inside the border.
- Flatweave
- A rug woven without knotted pile — the design comes from the interlacing of warp and weft. Kilims and dhurries are flatweaves.
- Foundation
- The structural skeleton of a rug — the warp and weft threads onto which the pile is knotted. Usually cotton, sometimes wool or silk.
- Fringe
- The exposed ends of the warp threads at the top and bottom of a rug. Fringe is part of the foundation, not a decorative add-on, so damage to it is structural.
- Fugitive dye
- A dye that is unstable and prone to running or fading, especially when wet — a key reason rugs are dye-tested before washing.
G
- Gul
- A medallion-like motif, often octagonal, characteristic of Turkmen and Afghan tribal rugs.
H
- Hand-knotted
- A rug whose pile is tied knot-by-knot by hand onto the foundation — the most labor-intensive and durable construction, capable of lasting centuries.
- Hand-tufted
- A rug made by punching yarn through a fabric backing with a tufting gun, then gluing a second backing on. Faster and cheaper than hand-knotting, but shorter-lived and not repairable in the same way.
- Heriz
- A region in northwest Iran known for durable, geometric medallion rugs in rust and blue palettes.
- Hygroscopic
- Able to absorb and release moisture from the air. Wool is hygroscopic, which makes it naturally flame-resistant and resilient.
K
- Kilim
- A flatwoven rug or tapestry, pile-less, made by interweaving colored weft threads. Common across Turkey, the Caucasus, and Central Asia.
- Knot (asymmetric)
- The Persian (Senneh) knot, tied around one warp — allows very fine, curvilinear detail.
- Knot (symmetric)
- The Turkish (Ghiordes) knot, tied around two warps — robust and well-suited to geometric designs.
- Knot count
- See KPSI. The density of knots, a primary measure of how finely a rug is woven.
- Kork wool
- The soft, fine wool from the neck and underbelly of the sheep — prized for high-end rugs for its softness and sheen.
- KPSI
- Knots Per Square Inch — the standard measure of weaving fineness. Coarse tribal rugs run 30–80 KPSI; fine silk rugs can exceed 500 KPSI.
L
- Lanolin
- The natural waxy oil in wool that repels dirt and water. Aggressive or hot-water cleaning strips lanolin and is the leading cause of wool-rug damage.
M
- Machine-made
- A rug woven by power loom rather than by hand. Uniform and inexpensive, but without the longevity or repair value of a hand-knotted rug.
- Medallion
- A large central design element, often diamond- or oval-shaped, anchoring the field of many classical Persian rugs.
- Mordant
- A metallic salt used to fix natural dyes to the fiber. The choice of mordant affects both the final color and the dye's stability.
- Moth damage
- Holes and grazed pile caused by clothes-moth larvae, which eat the protein in wool and silk. Thrives in dark, undisturbed areas.
N
- Nap
- The direction the pile lies. Running a hand with or against the nap changes how the color reads — useful for identifying the "right" viewing direction.
O
- Oushak
- A western Turkish weaving region known for large-scale, soft-palette decorative rugs popular with designers.
- Overcasting
- A wrapped finish along the long sides of a rug that protects the edge. Also called the selvedge or side cord; frays with wear and is a common repair.
P
- Pad
- An under-rug cushion that prevents slipping, reduces abrasion, and extends a rug's life. Cut to fit each rug.
- Patina
- The mellow softening of color and sheen a rug acquires with age and use — generally desirable in antique rugs.
- Pile
- The raised, knotted surface of a rug — the part you walk on. Pile height affects both feel and how the design reads.
- Pile crush
- Permanent flattening of the pile under furniture or heavy traffic. Hard to reverse in synthetics; often recoverable in wool.
- Pile direction
- See nap. The lay of the pile, which influences color and shading.
- Provenance
- The documented origin and ownership history of a rug, important for appraisal and insurance.
R
- Repair vs. restoration
- Repair stabilizes a problem (re-securing fringe, closing a small hole). Restoration rebuilds a rug toward its original state (full reweaving, color work).
- Reweaving
- A restoration technique that rebuilds missing pile and foundation knot-by-knot to match the original — making a hole or tear effectively invisible.
- Runner
- A long, narrow rug made for hallways and stairs.
S
- Selvedge
- The finished, reinforced edge along the long sides of a rug, protecting the foundation. See also overcasting.
- Semi-antique
- A rug roughly 50–99 years old — older than modern production but not yet a true antique.
- Sisal
- A stiff, durable natural fiber from the agave plant, used for textured rugs. Highly water-sensitive.
- Soumak
- A flatweave technique using a wrapping weft that produces a herringbone-like surface, stronger and thicker than a plain kilim.
- Spandrel
- The decorated corner area framing a central medallion, often in a contrasting color.
T
- Tribal rug
- A rug woven by nomadic or village weavers, typically more geometric and spontaneous than formal city workshop rugs.
V
- Vegetable dye
- Natural dye from plants, roots, and insects (e.g., madder, indigo, cochineal). Ages beautifully and is prized over synthetic dyes.
- Viscose
- A regenerated cellulose fiber (rayon) sold as "art silk" or "bamboo silk." Soft and shiny but weak when wet and prone to browning.
W
- Warp
- The foundation threads running the length of a rug, held under tension on the loom. The fringe is the exposed ends of the warp.
- Wash (hand)
- Full immersion or controlled hand-washing of a rug with fiber-appropriate water, soap, and drying — the conservation-grade alternative to machine carpet cleaning.
- Weft
- The foundation threads running across the width of a rug, woven between rows of knots to lock them in place.
- Wool
- The most common rug pile fiber — resilient, soil-resistant thanks to lanolin, and capable of lasting generations with proper care.
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