foliate

American  

[foh-lee-it, -eyt, foh-lee-eyt] / ˈfoʊ li ɪt, -ˌeɪt, ˈfoʊ liˌeɪt /

adjective

1. covered with or having leaves.

2. like a leaf, as in shape.

3. Architecture. Also

   1. ornamented with or composed of foil.

      foliate tracery.

   2. ornamented with representations of foliage.

      a foliate capital.

4. Petrology, Mineralogy. foliated.

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verb (used without object)

foliated, foliating

1. to put forth leaves.

2. to split into thin leaflike layers or laminae.

verb (used with object)

foliated, foliating

1. to shape like a leaf or leaves.

2. to decorate with foils or foliage.

3. to form into thin sheets.

4. to spread over with a thin metallic backing.

5. Printing. to number the folios or leaves, as distinguished from pages, of (a manuscript or book).

foliate British  

adjective

1. 1. relating to, possessing, or resembling leaves

   2. in combination

      trifoliate

2. (of certain metamorphic rocks, esp schists) having the constituent minerals arranged in thin leaflike layers

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verb

1. (tr) to ornament with foliage or with leaf forms such as foils

2. to hammer or cut (metal) into thin plates or foil

3. (tr) to coat or back (glass, etc) with metal foil

4. (tr) to number the leaves of (a book, manuscript, etc) Compare paginate

5. (intr) (of plants) to grow leaves

Other Word Forms

• subfoliate adjective

Etymology

Origin of foliate

First recorded in 1620–30, foliate is from the Latin word foliātus leafy. See folium, -ate ¹

Example Sentences

A gold cuff thought to have been decoration on a royal stool is embossed with lavish foliate patterns suggestive of leaves on a kum tree, a type of banyan for which Kumasi is named.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 5, 2024

The design featured a foliate design on an "ornate aubergine coloured" background, the catalogue said.

From BBC • Aug. 26, 2023

They are normally described by art historians as foliate heads, and they are, essentially, a decorative trope.

From Slate • Apr. 8, 2023

Made from creamy synthetic scuba knit — which holds shape very well — it has a 20-foot train painted and printed with slightly pixelated gold foliate pattern based on a sketch by Mr. Lagerfeld.

From New York Times • May 5, 2016

Thus the foliate and florate designs are better carved than the animal forms, and both better than the human.

From The Grotesque in Church Art by Wildridge, T. Tindall

Related Words

• fresh
• grassy
• leafy
• lush
• raw
• tender
• verdant