echinus

[ ih-kahy-nuhs ]

noun

, plural e·chi·ni [ih-, kahy, -nahy].

1. any sea urchin of the genus Echinus.
2. Architecture.
   1. an ovolo molding, especially one having an outline with several radii or one carved with an egg-and-dart pattern.
   2. the prominent circular molding supporting the abacus of a Doric or Tuscan capital.
   3. Also called cymatium. the circular molding, usually carved with an egg-and-dart pattern, forming part of an Ionic capital between the volutes and under the balteus.

echinus

/ ɪˈkaɪnəs /

noun

1. architect an ovolo moulding between the shaft and the abacus of a Doric column
2. any of the sea urchins of the genus Echinus, such as E. esculentus ( edible sea urchin ) of the Mediterranean

Word History and Origins

Origin of echinus¹

1325–75; Middle English < Latin < Greek echînos hedgehog, sea urchin

Word History and Origins

Origin of echinus¹

C14: from Latin, from Greek ekhinos

Example Sentences

In Echinus, on the other hand, where the polar bodies are formed in the ovary, the male pronucleus is always small.

From Project Gutenberg

Echinus (e-kīnus), in architecture, the ovolo or quarter-round convex moulding, seen in capitals of the Doric order.

From Project Gutenberg

Boveri has crossed Echinus microtuberculatus with Sphaerechinus granularis.

From Project Gutenberg

Yet the echinus can have, at the best, none but the most distant genetic relationship with the Polyzoa.

From Project Gutenberg

The second class is that to which the sea-urchin, or Echinus, belongs, of which there are many genera and species.

From Project Gutenberg