Elgin marbles

[ el-gin, -jin ]

plural noun
  1. a group of Greek sculptures of the 5th century b.c., originally on the Parthenon in Athens, and supposedly sculptured under the direction of Phidias: presently in the British Museum in London.

Origin of Elgin marbles

1
After Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin (1766–1841), who arranged for their removal from Athens

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How to use Elgin marbles in a sentence

  • I saw the old woman and the donkey dignified, decorative, and flat, as they might have marched across the Elgin marbles.

    Alarms and Discursions | G. K. Chesterton

British Dictionary definitions for Elgin marbles

Elgin marbles

pl n
  1. a group of 5th-century bc Greek sculptures originally decorating the Parthenon in Athens, brought to England by Thomas Bruce, seventh Earl of Elgin (1766–1841), and now at the British Museum

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012