Alternate name in architecture: key pattern or meander Alternate name in furniture: Chinese key

A repeating ornamental design of interlaced vertical and horizontal lines, such as the Greek key pattern, in T, L, or square-cornered G shapes

Old French: "fret" = grating

Some historians feel that the Greek key (illustrated above) has its basis in the Greek myth of the labyrinth that imprisoned the minotaur.

A meander is a running ornament consisting of a fret design with many involved turnings and an intricate variety of designs

A type of running ornament

Found in classical Greek and Roman architecture and derivatives, including Beaux Arts Classicism, Classical Revival, Federal, Georgian Revival, Greek Revival, Neoclassicism, Renaissance Revival, Second Empire