Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - herringbone

 I. noun  Usage: often attributive  Date: 1659  1. a pattern made up of rows of parallel lines which in any two adjacent rows slope in opposite directions  2.  a. a twilled fabric with a ~ pattern; also a suit made of this fabric  b. a ~ arrangement (as of materials or parts)  3. a method in skiing of ascending a slope by herringboning  II. verb  Date: 1787  transitive verb  1. to produce a ~ pattern on  2. to arrange in a ~ pattern  intransitive verb  1. to produce a ~ pattern  2. to ascend a slope by toeing out on skis and placing the weight on the inner side