art nouveau

[ahrt noo-voh, ahr; French ar-noo-voh]

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noun (often initial capital letters) Fine Arts.

a style of fine and applied art current in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, characterized chiefly by curvilinear motifs often derived from natural forms.

Origin of art nouveau

1900–05; < French: literally, new art

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

British Dictionary definitions for art nouveau

Art Nouveau

noun

1. a style of art and architecture of the 1890s, characterized by swelling sinuous outlines and stylized natural forms, such as flowers and leaves
2. (as modifier)an Art-Nouveau mirror

Word Origin

French, literally: new art

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 art nouveau

first recorded 1901, French, literally "new art" (see novel (adj.)). Called in German Jugendstil.