Crossword clues for acanthus
acanthus
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Acanthus \A*can"thus\, n.; pl. E. Acanthuses, L. Acanthi.
(Bot.) A genus of herbaceous prickly plants, found in the south of Europe, Asia Minor, and India; bear's-breech.
(Arch.) An ornament resembling the foliage or leaves of the acanthus ( Acanthus spinosus); -- used in the capitals of the Corinthian and Composite orders. [1913 Webster] ||
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
Wiktionary
n. 1 A member of the genus ''Acanthus'' of herbaceous prickly plants with toothed leaves, (family Acanthaceae, order ''(taxlink Scrophulariales order noshow=1)'') found in the south of Europe, Asia Minor, and India.(First attested in the mid 16th century.) 2 (context architecture English) An ornament resembling the foliage or leaves of (taxlink Acanthus spinosus species noshow=1) used in the capitals of the Corinthian and composite orders.(First attested in the mid 18th century.)
WordNet
n. any plant of the genus Acanthus having large spiny leaves and spikes or white or purplish flowers; native to Mediterranean region but widely cultivated
[also: acanthi (pl)]
Wikipedia
Acanthus (plural: acanthus, rarely acanthuses in English, or acanthi in Latin), in its feminine form acantha (plura: acanthae), is the Latinised form of the ancient Greek word acanthos or akanthos, referring to the Acanthus plant. It can also be used as the prefix acantho-, meaning "thorny". It may refer to:
Acanthus is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae, native to tropical and warm temperate regions, with the highest species diversity in the Mediterranean Basin and Asia. Common names include Acanthus and Bear's breeches. The generic name derives from the Greek term for the Acanthus mollis, , akanthos, a plant that was commonly imitated in Corinthian capitals.
The genus comprises herbaceous perennial plants, rarely subshrubs, with spiny leaves and flower spikes bearing white or purplish flowers. Size varies from in height.
The acanthus is one of the most common plant forms to make foliage ornament and decoration.
Acanthus ( Greek: ; in Ptolemy, ) was an ancient city of Egypt, on the western bank of the Nile, 120 stadia south of Memphis. Its site is located at the modern village of Dashour. The town was in the Memphite Nome, and, therefore, in the Heptanomis. It was celebrated for a temple of Osiris, and received its name from a sacred enclosure composed of the acanthus plants. ( Strabo p. 809; Diod. i. 97; Steph. B. s. v.; Ptol. iv. 5. ยง 55.)
Usage examples of "acanthus".
But certain it is that Netherlandish illumination, in its border foliages, after the taste for the larger vine and acanthus leaf had superseded the ivy, the drawing is studiously sculpturesque.
The glass was as fine as anything that Ryan had ever seen, cut with patterns of intertwined acanthus and vine leaves.
They are composed of the ears and leaves of the Indian corn, beautifully arranged, and forming as graceful an outline as the acanthus itself.
The blue flowers of the slender-leaved flax, combined with the bright hues of the scarlet acanthus, a flower peculiar to the country.
Sulla had brought back from Corinth and had made so popular-delicate sprays of acanthus leaves.
There I drank it, my feet resting on acanthus, my eyes wandering from sea to mountain, or peering at little shells niched in the crumbling surface of the sacred stone.
Then Don Esteban took from his breast pocket a bundle of thongs tanned the color of acanthus wood, the fringes of which, painted red, were twisted into numerous knots.
These patterns are abstracted for the most part from leaves and flowers - the rose, the lotus, the acanthus, palm, papyrus - and are elaborated, with recurrences and variations, into something transportingly reminiscent of the living geometries of the Other World.
Arums and acanthus and ivy filled every hollow, roses nodded from over every gate, while a carpet of violets and cyclamen and primroses stretched over the fields and freighted every wandering wind with fragrance.
The post was tapered to an acanthus pattern and was the best thing in the house, just about, along with the plank floor in the kitchen.
From their midst, ornate cast-iron pillars sprouted, acanthus leaves flowing into cantilevered struts supporting flat canopies that sheltered the roadway from the rain.
There are several sorts, as with Commissaires, ranging from bemedalled Generals to Substitutes thin and pale as stalks of celery, and I got a pretty grand one, judging by some mellow panelling and a fine Empire desk with lots of bronze acanthus leaves for me to trip over.
Nevertheless they do appear to have seen possibilities in the Carolingian handling of classical plant forms, especially the acanthus.
But certain it is that Netherlandish illumination, in its border foliages, after the taste for the larger vine and acanthus leaf had superseded the ivy, the drawing is studiously sculpturesque.
From the portrait of one of his least prudish ancestresses by Sir Peter Lely, which hung over the Adam mantelpiece, to the delicate acanthus leaves on the fluted posts of the twin beds, and the flowered brocade of the Duncan Phyfe sewing-stand, the room had always impressed him as being, in some extraordinary fashion, less real than it appeared on the surface.