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arabesque
6 dictionary results for: Arabesque
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
ar·a·besque 
[ar-uh-besk] Pronunciation Key
—Related forms
[ar-uh-besk] Pronunciation Key –noun
–adjective
| 1. | Fine Arts. a sinuous, spiraling, undulating, or serpentine line or linear motif. |
| 2. | a pose in ballet in which the dancer stands on one leg with one arm extended in front and the other leg and arm extended behind. |
| 3. | a short, fanciful musical piece, typically for piano. |
| 4. | any ornament or ornamental object, as a rug or mosaic, in which flowers, foliage, fruits, vases, animals, and figures are represented in a fancifully combined pattern. |
| 5. | decorated with or characterized by arabesques: arabesque design. |
[Origin: 1605–15; < F < It arabesco ornament in Islamic style, lit., Arabian, equiv. to arab(o) arab + -esco -esque]
] —Related forms
ar·a·besque·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| ar·a·besque
(ār'ə-běsk') Pronunciation Key
n.
adj. In the fashion of or formed as an arabesque. [French, from Italian arabesco, in Arabian fashion, from Arabo, an Arab, from Latin Arabus, from Arabs; see Arab.] |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
arabesque
arabesque
1611, "Moorish or Arabic ornamental design," from Fr. arabesque, from It. arabesco, from Arabo "Arab," with reference to Moorish architecture. As a ballet pose, first attested 1830. Musical sense, in ref. to an ornamented theme, is from 1864, originally the title given by Robert Schumann to one of his piano pieces.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| arabesque | |
noun | |
| 1. | position in which the dancer has one leg raised behind and arms outstretched in a conventional pose |
| 2. | an ornament that interlaces simulated foliage in an intricate design |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Arabesque
Ar`a*besque"\, n. [F. arabesque, fr. It. arabesco, fr. Arabo Arab.] A style of ornamentation either painted, inlaid, or carved in low relief. It consists of a pattern in which plants, fruits, foliage, etc., as well as figures of men and animals, real or imaginary, are fantastically interlaced or put together. Note: It was employed in Roman imperial ornamentation, and appeared, without the animal figures, in Moorish and Arabic decorative art. (See Moresque.) The arabesques of the Renaissance were founded on Greco-Roman work.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Arabesque
Ar`a*besque"\, a. 1. Arabian. [Obs.] 2. Relating to, or exhibiting, the style of ornament called arabesque; as, arabesque frescoes.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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