Rug Glossary: Oriental Rug Terms From Abrash to Ziegler

A plain-English glossary of the words you will meet when you shop for a Persian, Afghan or Oriental rug, from abrash to Ziegler. Each term links to rugs or guides where it matters.

A–C

Abrash

Gentle bands of slightly different color in a handmade rug, caused by wool dyed in small batches. A sign of hand work and natural dyes, not a flaw.

All-over design

A pattern that repeats across the whole field with no central medallion.

Antique rug

A rug about 100 years old or more. See Vintage vs Antique Rugs.

Area rug

Any rug that covers part of a floor, as opposed to wall-to-wall carpet.

Asymmetric knot

Also called the Persian or Senneh knot: the yarn wraps fully around one warp and loosely around the next. Allows very fine, curving designs.

Baluch

Small, dark, richly patterned tribal rugs woven by Baluch families in Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan.

Bokhara

A trade name for Turkmen rugs with rows of octagon guls, usually on red. Named after the old market city of Bukhara. Mauri and Bokhara rugs.

Border

The bands framing the field. Most rugs have a main border and thinner guard borders on each side.

Chobi

Afghan rugs in soft, muted colors from vegetable dyes, with open floral designs. Popular in modern rooms. Chobi rugs.

Corrosion (oxidation)

Lower pile in areas dyed dark brown or black, because the old dye wore the wool faster. Common and expected in antique rugs.

D–H

Dhurrie

A flat-woven cotton or wool rug from India.

Dry rot

Cotton foundation weakened by long dampness; the rug cracks when folded. Ask about it before buying an old rug.

Field

The main area of the rug inside the borders.

Flatweave

Any rug woven without pile, such as kilim, soumak and dhurrie.

Fringe

On a hand-knotted rug, the ends of the warp threads that run through the whole rug. Sewn-on fringe means the rug is not hand-knotted.

Gabbeh

Thick, loosely knotted tribal rugs with simple designs and large areas of plain color.

Ghazni wool

Handspun wool from sheep around Ghazni, Afghanistan, rich in lanolin and known for its soft sheen.

Gul

The octagon-shaped medallion repeated across Turkmen and Afghan rugs. Each tribe has its own gul.

Hand-knotted

A rug in which every knot is tied by hand. The strongest, longest-lasting construction. See Hand-Knotted vs Hand-Tufted vs Machine-Made.

Hand-tufted

Yarn punched through a canvas with a tool and held with glue. Lasts years, not generations.

Heriz

Bold, geometric Persian rugs from northwest Iran with large medallions, known for being tough.

K–O

Kazak

Bold, geometric rugs with thick wool, first woven in the Caucasus. Today many are woven in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Afghan Kazak rugs.

Khal Mohammadi

A fine Afghan Turkmen rug with deep red color and small guls, named after a weaver and his village.

Kilim

A flat-woven rug with no pile, its pattern made by the colored weft. See What Is a Kilim Rug? · Shop kilims.

KPSI

Knots per square inch. More knots allow finer detail. Village rugs often have 60–150 KPSI; fine city rugs can pass 300.

Lanolin

The natural oil in wool. It gives good wool its sheen and helps it resist dirt and stains.

Madder

A plant root that gives the classic red of Afghan and Persian rugs.

Mauri

Fine Turkmen rugs from western Afghanistan, often with rows of guls on rich red.

Medallion

A large central design in the field, often round or diamond-shaped.

Nain

Fine Persian city rugs, often ivory and blue, with silk outlining the design.

Oriental rug

The broad name for hand-knotted rugs from Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey, the Caucasus, India, Pakistan and China. See Afghan vs Persian Rugs.

Overdyed rug

An older rug washed out and dyed one strong color, such as blue or pink, for a modern look.

P–S

Persian rug

A hand-knotted rug woven in Iran. Persian rugs.

Pile

The cut yarn ends that form the rug's soft surface. Pile height ranges from low and flat to thick and plush.

Rug pad

A layer under the rug that stops slipping, protects the floor and the rug, and adds comfort. Rug pads cut to size.

Runner

A long, narrow rug for hallways, kitchens and stairs, often 2 to 3 feet wide. Runners.

Selvedge

The wrapped side edges of a rug that keep it from unraveling.

Serapi

Older Heriz-region rugs with open, geometric designs and soft colors, much sought after.

Soumak

A flatweave in which weft is wrapped around the warp, giving a fine herringbone-like surface.

Symmetric knot

Also called the Turkish or Ghiordes knot: the yarn wraps around two warps evenly. Strong and common in Kazak and village rugs.

T–Z

Tabriz

Fine Persian city rugs from northwest Iran, famous for detailed floral and medallion designs.

Tribal rug

A rug woven by nomadic or village families from memory rather than a drawn plan, with bold geometric motifs.

Vegetable dye

Color from plants and minerals, such as madder, indigo and pomegranate. Ages softly and shows abrash.

Vintage rug

A rug about 20 to 99 years old. Vintage and antique rugs.

Warp

The threads running the length of the rug, on which the knots are tied. They end as the fringe.

Weft

The threads woven across the width, between rows of knots, to hold them in place.

Ziegler

A rug style from 1800s workshops in Sultanabad, Iran, run by Ziegler & Co., with large, open floral designs in soft colors. Many Afghan Chobi rugs revive it.

Have a word we did not cover, or a rug you want identified? Chat with us, or book a written rug appraisal.