contrapposto
/ˌkɑntɹəˈpɑstoʊ/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.04 in modern English
18
Scrabble Score
12
Letters
4
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "The Archaic kouros was always callipygian, the large buttocks more stressed and valued than the face. But the buttocks of the Kritios Boy have a feminine refinement, as erotic as breasts in Venetian painting. The contrapposto flexes one buttock and relaxes the other. The artist imagines them as apple and pear, glowing and compact."
- "The difference can be seen in the two competition reliefs for the doors of the Florence Baptistery by Lorenzo Ghiberti and Filippo Brunelleschi[…]: Ghiberti (right) offers a relaxed demonstration of his skill, close to the dancing definition of contrapposto, whereas Brunelleschi (left) proffers several tautly knotted contrapposti."
- "The hawkers' athletic contrappostos, intellectual and imaginary rather than plausible, speak of the mind's superiority to the body."
- "Yes, the difference between the expressive faces and baroque contrappostos of the figures on the Antonine panels and the squat, awkward bodies of the Constantinian frieze is interesting to note, but neither era's relief panels on the Arch are wholly indicative of the visual culture of their respective moments."
Etymology
Borrowed from Italian contrapposto (“contrasting; opposing”, adjective), the past participle of contrapporre (“to set against, counter”), from Latin contrāpōnere, the present active infinitive of contrāpōnō (“to oppose; to place opposite”), from contrā (“against; contrary to”) + pōnō (“to place, put”). The plural form contrapposti is borrowed from Italian contrapposti, the masculine plural form of contrapposto.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *tḱey-, contrapposto, contrāpōnere, contrapposti
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌkɑntɹəˈpɑstoʊ/
- British English: /ˌkɒntɹəˈpɒstəʊ/