caryatid

[ kar-ee-at-id ]

noun

, Architecture.

, plural car·y·at·ids, car·y·at·i·des [kar-ee-, at, -i-deez].

1. a sculptured female figure used as a column. Compare atlas ( def 5 ).

caryatid

/ ˌkærɪəˈtɪdɪk; ˌkærɪˈætɪd /

noun

1. See telamon
   a column, used to support an entablature, in the form of a draped female figure Compare telamon

Derived Forms

• ˌcaryˈatidal, adjective

Other Words From

• cary·ati·dal adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of caryatid¹

1555–65; < Latin Caryātides (singular Caryātis ) < Greek Karyā́tides columns shaped like women, literally, women of Karýai, Laconia

Word History and Origins

Origin of caryatid¹

C16: from Latin Caryātides, from Greek Karuatides priestesses of Artemis at Karuai (Caryae), village in Laconia

Example Sentences

The caryatid form of pier is generally found, in temples, in the peristyles of the fore-courts or the hypostyles of the pronaos.

From Project Gutenberg

Then he noticed Alicia, sitting motionless in her seat, just as he had left her, with the expressionless face of a caryatid.

From Project Gutenberg

It stood probably in the portico and may have served as a Caryatid.

From Project Gutenberg

The famous caryatid porch faces the south, looking toward the Parthenon.

From Project Gutenberg

Observe beneath these rags those caryatid bodies, those austere faces!

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• monument