cyma

[ sahy-muh ]

/ ˈsaɪ mə /

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noun, plural cy·mae

[sahy-mee], /ˈsaɪ mi/, cy·mas.

Architecture. either of two moldings having a partly convex and partly concave curve for an outline: used especially in classical architecture.Compare cyma recta, cyma reversa.

Botany. a cyme.

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Origin of cyma

1555–65; <New Latin <Greek kŷma something swollen, a wave, wavy molding, sprout, equivalent to ký(ein) to be pregnant + -ma noun suffix

Words nearby cyma

cylindrical projection, cylindroid, cylix, Cyllenian, Cym., cyma, cymaise, cymar, cyma recta, cyma reversa, cymation

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cyma in a sentence

The corresponding cyma was of the same material and similarly decorated.
The American Journal of Archaeology, 1893-1|Various
The cornice is of grey marble with a 'cyma recta' section, and is carved with an upright leaf.
Byzantine Churches in Constantinople|Alexander Van Millingen
The Doric cyma is commonly called the beak-moulding, the Lesbian cyma the cyma reversa.
History of Ancient Art|Franz von Reber
When the crowning moulding of an entablature is of the cyma form, it is called a “cymatium.”
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 8|Various

The parapet above, including its cyma and corona, is one half the height of the parapet below.
Ten Books on Architecture|Vitruvius

British Dictionary definitions for cyma

cyma

/ (ˈsaɪmə) /

noun plural -mae (-miː) or -mas

either of two mouldings having a double curve, part concave and part convex. Cyma recta has the convex part nearer the wall and cyma reversa has the concave part nearer the wall

botany a rare variant of cyme

Word Origin for cyma

C16: from New Latin, from Greek kuma something swollen, from kuein to be pregnant

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