Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A composition or structure in radiating form or arrangement, such as a rotating display of fireworks.
- noun An ornamental branched candleholder, sometimes backed by a mirror.
- noun An earring that consists of a central piece with three smaller ornaments or stones hanging from it.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A branched lightholder, whether for candles or lamps, whether standing on a foot (see
candelabrum ) serving as a bracket projecting from the wall. The former is the more common signification in English use. - noun A kind of revolving firework; a pyrotechnic revolving sun; also, any revolving jet of similar form or character: as, a girandole of water.
- noun A piece of jewelry of pendent form, often consisting of a central larger pendant surrounded by smaller ones.
- noun In fortification, a connection of several mine-chambers for the defense of the place of arms of the covered way.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun An
ornamental branchedcandle holder , sometimes with amirror behind. - noun pyrotechnics A type of
firework which creates a "whirling top" or "flying saucer" effect.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun an ornate candle holder; often with a mirror
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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By the 18th century "girandole" was being used for a branched candlestick, perhaps due to its resemblance to the firework.
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Such a pattern is reflected in the word's etymology: "girandole" can be traced back, by way of French and Italian, to the Latin word "gyrus," meaning "gyre" or "a circular or spiral motion or form."
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The earliest uses of "girandole" in English, in the 17th century, referred to a kind of firework or to something, such as a fountain, with a radiating pattern like that of a firework.
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The choice furniture is arranged among paintings, girandole mirrors, lamps, porcelain and silver that would once have been prized by the carriage trade knocking on Phyfe's showroom door.
Furniture for a Young Nation Barrymore Laurence Scherer 2012
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Back to the pasta bentos – penne (actually girandole) with creamy sundried tomato sauce, pine nuts and rucola.
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On the pans that hung like haloes over the sink and on the winged girandole by the stairs it shone.
At Swim, Two Boys Jamie O’Neill 2002
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On the pans that hung like haloes over the sink and on the winged girandole by the stairs it shone.
At Swim, Two Boys Jamie O’Neill 2002
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It was tastefully appointed with expensive antiques -- such as an early-nineteenth-century French giltwood barometer, an Italian girandole and a Chinese enamel hanging lantern -- decorative paintings, and plush furnishings.
Sinatra The Man Behind the Myth Taraborrelli, J. R. 1997
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A pair of girandole ear-rings of brilliants, each consisting of a large stud brilliant and of three pear-shaped brilliants united by four small ones; another pair of ear-rings composed of fourteen small brilliants forming a clustre of grapes, each stud of a single brilliant.
Diamonds and Pearls 1969
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I have seen a set of cut-glass sent to Calcutta for the purpose, or a girandole, too handsome for Brazilian purchasers.
Journal of a Voyage to Brazil And Residence There During Part of the Years 1821, 1822, 1823 Maria Graham
qroqqa commented on the word girandole
Poor Sir Philip, as if he had seen the face of Medusa, flew back, and encountered a girandole, which fell to the floor—a girandole no more.
—Robert Bage, 1796, Hermsprong
March 22, 2009
qms commented on the word girandole
His brief part should have been droll,
A gesture, a flourish, a girandole.
But clownish excess
From too much success
Has trapped us now in the Grand Guignol.
July 4, 2017
bilby commented on the word girandole
I wonder if there are other words for water fountain effects.
July 4, 2017