acanthus
/əˈkæn.θəs/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 2.08 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A member of the genus Acanthus of herbaceous prickly plants with toothed leaves, (family Acanthaceae, order Lamiales (formerly Scrophulariales)) found in the south of Europe, Asia Minor, and India.
noun
An ornament resembling the foliage or leaves of Acanthus spinosus, used in the capitals of the Corinthian and composite orders.
Example Sentences
- "The picture before which they paused represented one of those ruined fountains so common to Italy. Francesca gazed upon it as if it had been an old friend: many a time, beside such a one, with its curved and broken marble, had she wreathed the acanthus that hung around it, the green and trailing foliage so profuse in the South, into shapes even more fanciful than those which once suggested the Corinthian capital."
- "It is difficult to imagine that Bernard of Clairvaux was gullible enough to accept dozens of historiated windows, grisaille fields of griffins, mosaic pavements, carved acanthus capitals, inhabited vine columns, and golden altarware on the strength of the justifications offered by a single window, one tympanum, and Suger's libelli."
Etymology
From Latin acanthus, from Ancient Greek ἄκανθος (ákanthos, “thorn”), from ἀκή (akḗ, “point”) + ἄνθος (ánthos, “flower”).
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *h₂eḱ-, acanthus, ἄκανθος
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /əˈkæn.θəs/
- British English: /əˈkæn.θəs/
Inflected Forms
Frequently Paired Words
acantha
Acanthis