Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Any of various perennial herbs or small shrubs of the genus Acanthus, native to the Mediterranean and having pinnately lobed basal leaves with spiny margins and showy spikes of white or purplish flowers.
- noun Architecture A design patterned after the leaves of one of these plants, used especially on the capitals of Corinthian columns.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun In botany, a genus of tall herbaceous plants of southern Europe and Africa, natural order Acanthaceæ.
- noun [lowercase] The common name of plants of this genus. In zoology, a genus of crustaceans. [lowercase] In architecture, a characteristic ornament derived from or resembling the conventionalized foliage or leaves of the acanthus, used in capitals of the Corinthian and Composite orders, and in Roman, Byzantine, medieval, and Renaissance architecture generally, as upon friezes, cornices, modillions, etc.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Bot.) A genus of herbaceous prickly plants, found in the south of Europe, Asia Minor, and India; bear's-breech.
- noun (Arch.) An ornament resembling the foliage or leaves of the acanthus (
Acanthus spinosus ); -- used in the capitals of the Corinthian and Composite orders.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun any plant of the genus Acanthus having large spiny leaves and spikes or white or purplish flowers; native to Mediterranean region but widely cultivated
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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Perhaps the most alarming decay has beset the capitals, blocks of marble carved into swirling patterns of acanthus leaves.
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Perhaps the most alarming decay has beset the capitals, blocks of marble carved into swirling patterns of acanthus leaves.
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On the south side, a large acanthus medallion sprouts amid a field of stone rosettes, as delicate as on the day they were first chiseled.
Temple of the 'Bride of the Desert' Christian C. Sahner 2011
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Perhaps the most alarming decay has beset the capitals, blocks of marble carved into swirling patterns of acanthus leaves.
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Stern-faced caryatids with gilded wings support card tables, above legs carved as muscular lions' paws; gilded acanthus leaves curl around the pillars of center tables and sideboards.
Furniture for a Young Nation Barrymore Laurence Scherer 2012
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In private gardens acanthus and purple lavender grow ... but where, I wonder are the townspeople?
French Destinations 2010
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Its columns are tall and slender, its capitals have bountiful acanthus leaves with big scrolls and its entablature sports an ostentatiously sculpted frieze and cornice.
Renaissance architecture: how to identify the Roman orders 2011
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The Corinthian order is also very feminine in nature, characterised primarily by its ornate capitals, which sport two rows of sculpted acanthus leaves with small volutes spiral scrolls in the corners.
Renaissance architecture: how to identify the Roman orders 2011
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In private gardens acanthus and purple lavender grow ... but where, I wonder are the townspeople?
Characters 2009
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Perhaps the most alarming decay has beset the capitals, blocks of marble carved into swirling patterns of acanthus leaves.
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