arabesque

[ar-uh-besk]

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noun

Fine Arts. a sinuous, spiraling, undulating, or serpentine line or linear motif.

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.

a short, fanciful musical piece, typically for piano.

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.

adjective

decorated with or characterized by arabesques: arabesque design.

Origin of arabesque

1605–15; < French < Italian arabesco ornament in Islamic style, literally, Arabian, equivalent to Arab(o) Arab + -esco -esque

Related formsar·a·besque·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for arabesque

color, wreath, ornament, trinket, finery, design, ribbon, plaque, lace, decoration, tapestry, brocade, needlepoint, quilting, garbage, spangle, doodad, extravagance, filigree, flounce

Examples from the Web for arabesque

Contemporary Examples of arabesque

Arabesque focuses on Turkey, Morocco and Lebanon, with the added bonus of a beautiful design and great photos.
Fresh Picks
Jody Adams
April 27, 2010

Historical Examples of arabesque

When all was ready, he drew some arabesque forms with his pencil on the board.
Put Yourself in His Place
Charles Reade
A "Schumannesque" is written closely on the lines of Schumann's "Arabesque."
Contemporary American Composers
Rupert Hughes
There were arabesque figures with unsuited limbs and appointments.
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
The ceiling and walls were rich with tessellated and arabesque work.
The Pirate City
R.M. Ballantyne
His sketches of life are arabesque in their strange combinations.
Mark Twain
Archibald Henderson

British Dictionary definitions for arabesque

arabesque

noun

ballet a classical position in which the dancer has one leg raised behind and both arms stretched out in one of several conventional poses

music a piece or movement with a highly ornamented or decorated melody

arts

a type of curvilinear decoration in painting, metalwork, etc, with intricate intertwining leaf, flower, animal, or geometrical designs
a design of flowing lines

adjective

designating, of, or decorated in this style

Word Origin for arabesque

C18: from French, from Italian arabesco in the Arabic style

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

Word Origin and History for arabesque

1610s, "Moorish or Arabic ornamental design," from French arabesque (16c.), from Italian arabesco, from Arabo "Arab," with reference to Moorish architecture. As a ballet pose, first attested 1830. Musical sense, in reference to an ornamented theme, is from 1864, originally the title given by Robert Schumann to one of his piano pieces.