patchwork

English

Etymology

From patch +‎ work.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

patchwork (countable and uncountable, plural patchworks)

1. A work, such as a blanket, composed of many different colors and shapes, sewn together to make an interesting whole.
2. (figurative) Any kind of creation that makes use of many different aspects to create one whole piece.

   Bill took all of his poetry and put it together in a folder. It made up a patchwork of his life.

   • 2022 November 17, Paul Salopek, “A ‘Slow Storytelling’ Writing and Photography Workshop Boosts Conservation in China”, in National Geographic‎:

     Everything about China is super-sized: The five new parks, which in some cases stitched together an older patchwork of conservation zones, sprawl across more than 88,800 square miles of territory—a protected area more than 25 times the size of Yellowstone National Park in the United States.

   • 2025 October 1, Richard Wilcock, “There is more to be proud of in the railway than we sometimes allow ourselves to see”, in RAIL, number 1045, page 40:

     The wider North West and Central Region is itself a microcosm of the industry's complexity. Covering the approaches to London Euston, stretching through Birmingham and the West Midlands, and reaching Manchester, Liverpool and beyond, it is a patchwork of overlapping markets, political geographies, and infrastructure types.

3. (derogatory) A state of regulations whose constituents have an opaque scope of application because of their questionable delimitation with regard to each other.
   • 2011, Bryce Clayton Newell, “Rethinking Reasonable Expectations of Privacy in Online Social Networks”, in Richmond Journal of Law and Technology, volume 17, number 4, page 5:

     Present United States privacy law – despite being made up of a patchwork federal and state constitutional, statutory, and common law – is predominantly based on the ideals of individual control, autonomy, and liberty from governmental intrusion, despite the fact that its inspiration was an idea grounded on the importance of protecting human dignity and an “inviolate personality.”

   • 2025 July 1, Matt Brown and Matt O'Brien, “Senate strikes AI regulatory ban from GOP bill after uproar from the states”, in AP News‎:

     Proponents of an AI moratorium had argued that a patchwork of state and local AI laws is hindering progress in the AI industry and the ability of U.S. firms to compete with China.

Derived terms

• patchworky

Related terms

• patchwork plagiarism
• patchwork quilt
• patchwork ruler
• patchy

Translations

a work composed of many different colors and shapes

Dutch: lapwerk (nl) n, lappendeken (nl) f Finnish: tilkkutäkki (fi) Irish: obair phaistí f Latin: centō m Maori: kuira Norman: rapiéchage m (Jersey) Persian: چهل‌تکه (čehel-tekke) Spanish: almazuela (es)

any kind of creation that utilizes many different aspects to create one, whole piece

Dutch: lappendeken (nl) f Finnish: palapeli (fi) Romanian: mozaic (ro) n

Verb

patchwork (third-person singular simple present patchworks, present participle patchworking, simple past and past participle patchworked)

1. (transitive) To create a patchwork from pieces of fabric.
2. (transitive) To assemble from a variety of sources; to cobble together.

References

• “patchwork”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English patchwork.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pat.ʃwɔʁk/, /pat.ʃwœʁk/
• (Canada, Missouri, New England, Louisiana) IPA^(key): /patʃwɚk/

Noun

patchwork m (plural patchworks)

1. patchwork

Further reading

• “patchwork”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Italian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English patchwork.

Noun

patchwork m (invariable)

1. patchwork (all senses)

Spanish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English patchwork.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpat͡ʃwoɾk/ [ˈpa.t͡ʃwoɾk]
  • Rhymes: -atʃwoɾk
• IPA^(key): /ˈpat͡ʃuɚk/ [ˈpa.t͡ʃuɚk]
  • Rhymes: -atʃuɚk
• IPA^(key): /ˈbæt͡ʃuɚk/ [ˈbæt͡ʃuɚk]
  • Rhymes: -uɚk

Noun

patchwork m (plural patchworks)

1. patchwork

Usage notes

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.