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girandole

American  
[jir-uhn-dohl] / ˈdʒɪr ənˌdoʊl /
Also girandola

noun

  1. a rotating and radiating firework.

  2. an ornate bracket for candelabra or the like, sometimes with a reflecting mirror at the back of the shelf.

  3. a brooch or earring consisting of a central ornament with usually three smaller ornaments hanging from it.


girandole British  
/ ˈdʒɪrənˌdəʊl, dʒɪˈrændələ /

noun

  1. an ornamental branched wall candleholder, usually incorporating a mirror

  2. an earring or pendant having a central gem surrounded by smaller ones

  3. a kind of revolving firework

  4. artillery a group of connected mines

"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

Etymology

Origin of girandole

First recorded in 1625–35; from French, from Italian girandola, derivative of girare “to turn in a circle, revolve,” from Late Latin gȳrāre, derivative of gȳrus “circular track (for horses), ring, circle,” from Greek gŷros

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:

Underneath the girandole are two of my books: my latest, Diving for Pearls, and Sisters, Saints and Sibyls, which is very rare.

From The Wall Street Journal Nov. 3, 2015

To the left is a girandole from 1730 made from Murano glass.

From The Wall Street Journal Nov. 3, 2015

The 30th, it began to flow again in the same direction, whilst the mouth of the Volcano threw up every minute a girandole of red hot stones, to an immense height.

From Observations on Mount Vesuvius, Mount Etna, and Other Volcanos by Hamilton, William

The sounds of shivering glass as a girandole crashed from its joining met their ears.

From The ghosts of their ancestors by Mills, Weymer Jay

I have seen a set of cut-glass sent to Calcutta for the purpose, or a girandole, too handsome for Brazilian purchasers.

From Journal of a Voyage to Brazil And Residence There During Part of the Years 1821, 1822, 1823 by Graham, Maria

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