cyma

American  

[sahy-muh] / ˈsaɪ mə /

noun

plural

cymae, cymas

1. Architecture. either of two moldings having a partly convex and partly concave curve for an outline: used especially in classical architecture.

2. Botany. a cyme.

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cyma British  

/ ˈsaɪmə /

noun

1. 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

2. botany a rare variant of cyme

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Etymology

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

Example Sentences

The parapet above, including its cyma and corona, is one half the height of the parapet below.

From The Ten Books on Architecture by Vitruvius Pollio

When the concave part is uppermost, it is called a cyma recta; but if the convex portion is at the top, it is called a cyma reversa.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 8 "Cube" to "Daguerre, Louis" by Various

Furthermore just such cyma pieces have been discovered belonging to other structures in Olympia and amid the pre-Persian ruins on the Acropolis of Athens.

From The American Journal of Archaeology, 1893-1 by Various

When the crowning moulding of an entablature is of the cyma form, it is called a “cymatium.”

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 8 "Cube" to "Daguerre, Louis" by Various

Cym′agraph, an instrument for tracing the outline of mouldings; Cymā′tium, a cyma.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various