caryatid
[ kar-ee-at-id ]
/ ˌkær iˈæt ɪd /
noun, plural car·y·at·ids, car·y·at·i·des [kar-ee-at-i-deez]. /ˌkær iˈæt ɪˌdiz/. Architecture.
a sculptured female figure used as a column.Compare atlas (def. 5).
QUIZZES
DISCOVER THE INFLUENCE OF PORTUGUESE ON ENGLISH VIA THIS QUIZ!
We’ve gathered some interesting words donated to English from Portuguese … as well as some that just don’t translate at all. Do you know what they mean?
Question 1 of 11
Which of the following animal names traces its immediate origin to Portuguese?
Origin of caryatid
1555–65; <Latin Caryātides (singular Caryātis) <Greek Karyā́tides columns shaped like women, literally, women of Karýai, Laconia
OTHER WORDS FROM caryatid
car·y·at·i·dal, adjectiveWords nearby caryatid
carving, carving fork, carving knife, car wash, Cary, caryatid, Caryl, Caryn, caryo-, caryophyllaceous, caryopsis
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for caryatid
British Dictionary definitions for caryatid
caryatid
/ (ˌkærɪˈætɪd) /
noun plural -ids or -ides (-ɪˌdiːz)
a column, used to support an entablature, in the form of a draped female figureCompare telamon
Derived forms of caryatid
caryatidal, caryatidean, caryatic or caryatidic (ˌkærɪəˈtɪdɪk), adjectiveWord Origin for caryatid
C16: from Latin Caryātides, from Greek Karuatides priestesses of Artemis at Karuai (Caryae), village in Laconia
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