In English Arras is the name of a kind of tapestry richly woven with scenes and figures, and also of the hangings of this material which, in olden days, were hung around the walls of large rooms, often so spaced as to furnish concealment for an eavesdropper, a lover, or a knave The French call such material tapisserie.
The English name is that of a town, Arras, in Artois, France, which was famed for the excellence of tapestry of this nature produced there. (See also tapestry.)
