Anatolian
A generic name applied to all rugs that come from the high plains of central Turkey.

Antique
The strict definition of an antique rug, which is still used by the United States Customs, requires that the rug be over a hundred years old. In reality, most rugs from the nineteenth century, even if they are less than a hundred years old, are now considered antiques. The term antique also refers to a type of chemical washing which gives an old look to a rug.

Arabesque
A design element consisting of complex, intertwining vines, tendrils, leaves and flowers.

Border
The band or stripe -- or group of bands and stripes -- around the edge of the rug that forms a frame to enclose the central field. The border stripes, which almost always are present on all four sides of the rug, are worked in a single colour or in various patterns.

Broken border
A border that's extended into the field rather than separated from it by straight lines. This border is usually much more closely related to the pattern in the field of the rug than other borders are.

Carpet
A rug with a surface area of 4.4 m2 or more and whose length is 1½ times its width.

Caucasian
A generic name that refers to geometric, boldly coloured designs that were originally produced in the Caucasus Mountain region.

Density
A measure of the quality of the rug's construction that is determined by two factors: (1) the number of knots and (2) the height of the pile in a given area of the rug.

Double prayer rug
A rug with an arch at both ends of the field.

Embossing
A technique used in finishing carpets in which feathered incisions are made in the pile where the different colours meet.

Feraghan
A town in the Arak weaving district of Iran. The name is often used to describe rugs made using the Herati design.

Field
The largest area of a carpet; the central portion that is enclosed by borders.

Foundation
The warps and wefts of a pile rug.

Gold washing
A process, usually seen in rugs from Afghanistan, in which the original red colour of the pile is bleached out to shades of gold, coral, and amber after the weaving process has been completed.

Hali
A Turkish word that means "carpet".

Harmon
A quality designation given to Romanian rugs that are woven on woolen foundations and contain 200 000 knots per square meter.

Herati
The most common repeating pattern in Persian rugs. Formed by a rosette surrounded by a diamond with small palmettes at its points and curving, tapered, serrated leaves that resemble fish along its sides.

Indo-
A prefix used in combination with the name of a traditional rug type to identify India as the rug's country of origin.

Jufti
A knot that is woven over more than the normal two warps. This reduces weaving time but yields a rug of inferior quality. Jufti knotting is usually done where the design of the rug incorporates large areas of a single colour.

Kashmir
A rug-weaving district in the western Himalayas. The name has also been incorrectly used to describe the Soumak weaving technique.

Line
A unit for measuring the quality of a rug, based on the number of pairs of warp threads in a given area of a carpet, usually one linear foot. The term "line" is also used to describe a border stripe that consists of a single row of knots.

Mat
A small rug that measures about 1½m square. (5 or 6 feet square.)

Medallion
A single large design or a series of large designs that appear in the middle of a rugs field.

Namazlik
The Turkish name for a prayer rug.

Olt
A quality designation given to Romanian rugs that are woven on cotton foundations and contain 250 000 knots per square meter.

Palmette
A design element composed of a cross section of large, leafy, fan shaped, flowers. Usually multicoloured.

Persian knot
A knotting technique in which one end of the yarn is drawn up between two adjacent warp threads and the other end is drawn up on the outside of the pair. Also called an asymmetrical knot, or a Senneh knot.

Pile
The surface of a carpet, formed by the cut ends of the knots that are tied into the foundation.

Pushti
A Turkish term used for a mat or rug measuring approximately 3 by 2 feet.

Qali
See hali.

Rosette
A design element composed of the symmetrical, head-on view of a flower. Usually round, with radiating petals.

Runner
A very narrow rug. Runners are ideal for passages, staircases or other narrow areas.

Safavid
The ruling dynasty in Persia during the golden age of rug making from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries.

Semi-antique
A rug that's neither antique nor modern. A rug made in a style that is no longer in production may be called a semi-antique even if it was woven relatively recently.

Senneh
A knotting technique; see Persian knot. Also the former name of a town in Iran where fine, single-wefted rugs were woven.

Tree of life
A design featuring a large tree that divides the field of the rug in half.

Turkibaff
A rug made with Turkish knots.

Turkish knot
A knotting technique in which the pile yarn is looped around two adjacent warp threads and then brought up between them. Also called a Ghiordes knot.

Tufting
A process in which the pattern-forming pile yarns are inserted into the foundation of the rug with the use of a handheld machine.

Verneh
A geometric designed, flat-woven rug made of narrow kilim strips that have been sewn together and brocaded.

Warp
The foundation threads of a rug that are strung from the top to the bottom of a loom. In Oriental rugs, the knots are tied on the warp threads, which also form the fringes at the ends of the finished rug.

Weft
The foundation threads of a rug that are strung across the width of a loom. These threads are passed through alternate warp threads after each row of knots is tied. They serve to secure the knots in place and also form part of the sides (selvedges) of the rug.

Yastik
The Turkish term for a very small rug or pillow cover, measuring approximately 3¼ by 1½ feet.

Zel-i-Sultan
A style of rug that was once made in the Feraghan-Sarouk area of the Arak district of Iran. The term now refers to a repeating design made up of small vases of rose or red flowers.