foliate
Americanadjective
verb (used without object)
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to put forth leaves.
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to split into thin leaflike layers or laminae.
verb (used with object)
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to shape like a leaf or leaves.
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to decorate with foils or foliage.
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to form into thin sheets.
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to spread over with a thin metallic backing.
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Printing. to number the folios or leaves, as distinguished from pages, of (a manuscript or book).
adjective
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relating to, possessing, or resembling leaves
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in combination
trifoliate
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(of certain metamorphic rocks, esp schists) having the constituent minerals arranged in thin leaflike layers
verb
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(tr) to ornament with foliage or with leaf forms such as foils
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to hammer or cut (metal) into thin plates or foil
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(tr) to coat or back (glass, etc) with metal foil
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(tr) to number the leaves of (a book, manuscript, etc) Compare paginate
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(intr) (of plants) to grow leaves
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of foliate
First recorded in 1620–30, foliate is from the Latin word foliātus leafy. See folium, -ate 1
Vocabulary lists containing foliate
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Also included are a champagne swizzle stick and a metal-mounted foliate cocktail stick holder.
From BBC ● Nov. 20, 2023
They are normally described by art historians as foliate heads, and they are, essentially, a decorative trope.
From Slate ● Apr. 8, 2023
Lehman followed a formula in these portraits and foliate still lifes, but his strange deviations and distortions of space and the body keep the images fresh.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 28, 2016
Mr. Mabey finds a few curling floral and foliate motifs but is content to leave these prehistoric symbols as mystery.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 15, 2016
The lateral arcades are blind, while the higher central arcading around the door is surmounted with three receding tori resting on crocketed foliate capitals.
From Rheims and the Battles for its Possession Illustrated Michelin Guides to the Battle-Fields (1914-1918) by Various
Metamorphic rock textures are foliated, non-foliated, or lineated are described below.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2017
Boxwood: English boxwood is bright green and densely foliated with rounded leaves.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 9, 2016
One of the results of directed pressure and sheer stress is that rocks become foliated — meaning that they’ll have a directional fabric.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015
Metamorphic rocks that form under either low-pressure conditions or just confining pressure do not become foliated.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015
The piers are large, and consist of clustered shafts, lozenge-shaped in plan, set on much moulded bases, and having beautifully carved foliated capitals from which spring architrave mouldings of great variety.
From Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Lichfield A Description of Its Fabric and A Brief History of the Espicopal See by A. B. Clifton
The ash was foliating on the 29th of April, the oak on the 28th.
From The Delectable Duchy by Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
