pattern

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
pattern/ˈpatn/

▶noun

• 1 a repeated decorative design.

  ■ an arrangement or sequence regularly found in comparable objects or events.

• 2 a regular form or sequence discernible in the way in which something happens or is done: a change in working patterns.

• 3 a model or design used as a guide in needlework and other crafts.

  ■ a set of instructions to be followed in making a sewn or knitted item.

  ■ a model from which a mould is made for a casting.

  ■ a sample of cloth or wallpaper.

• 4 an example for others to follow.

▶verb

• 1 decorate with a pattern.

• 2 give a regular or intelligible form to.

  ■ (pattern something on/after) give something a form based on that of (something else).

– derivatives
patternless adjective.

– origin ME patron ‘something serving as a model’, from OFr. (see patron).