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Definition of picturesque - 4 dictionary results
pic⋅tur⋅esque
[pik-chuh-resk] 
–adjective
| 1. | visually charming or quaint, as if resembling or suitable for a painting: a picturesque fishing village. |
| 2. | (of writing, speech, etc.) strikingly graphic or vivid; creating detailed mental images: a picturesque description of the Brazilian jungle. |
| 3. | having pleasing or interesting qualities; strikingly effective in appearance: a picturesque hat. |
Origin:
1695–1705; < F pittoresque < It pittoresco (pittor(e) painter + -esco -esque ), with assimilation to picture
1695–1705; < F pittoresque < It pittoresco (pittor(e) painter + -esco -esque ), with assimilation to picture
Related forms:
pic⋅tur⋅esque⋅ly, adverb
pic⋅tur⋅esque⋅ness, noun
Synonyms:
2. Picturesque, graphic, vivid apply to descriptions that produce a strong, especially a visual, impression. Picturesque is a less precise term than the other two. A picturesque account, though striking and interesting, may be inaccurate or may reflect personal ideas: He called the landscape picturesque. A graphic account is more objective and factual: it produces a clear, definite impression, and carries conviction. A vivid account is told with liveliness and intenseness; the description is so interesting, or even exciting, that the reader or hearer may be emotionally stirred.
2. Picturesque, graphic, vivid apply to descriptions that produce a strong, especially a visual, impression. Picturesque is a less precise term than the other two. A picturesque account, though striking and interesting, may be inaccurate or may reflect personal ideas: He called the landscape picturesque. A graphic account is more objective and factual: it produces a clear, definite impression, and carries conviction. A vivid account is told with liveliness and intenseness; the description is so interesting, or even exciting, that the reader or hearer may be emotionally stirred.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To picturesque
| pic·tur·esque (pĭk'chə-rěsk') adj.
[Alteration of French pittoresque, from Italian pittoresco, from pittore, painter, from Latin pictor; see Pictor.] pic'tur·esque'ly adv., pic'tur·esque'ness n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Picturesque
Pic`tur*esque"\, a. [It. pittoresco: cf. F. pittoresque. See Pictorial.] Forming, or fitted to form, a good or pleasing picture; representing with the clearness or ideal beauty appropriate to a picture; expressing that peculiar kind of beauty which is agreeable in a picture, natural or artificial; graphic; vivid; as, a picturesque scene or attitude; picturesque language. What is picturesque as placed in relation to the beautiful and the sublime? It is . . . the characteristic pushed into a sensible excess. --De Quincey. -- Pic`tur*esque"ly, adv. -- Pic`tur*esque"ness, n.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : picturesque
Spanish:
pintoresco,
German:
malerisch,
Japanese:
絵のような
picturesque
1703, on pattern of Fr. pittoresque, a loan-word from It. pittoresco "pictorial" (1664), from pittore "painter," from L. pictorem (nom. pictor), see pictorial.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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