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.

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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

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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

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

"Courtney," 143. frames, 134. girandole, 140, 141. glass, 134. knobs, 137.

From Colonial Homes and Their Furnishings by Northend, Mary H.

The empanelled walls were white, with here a gilt mirror, flanked on either side by a girandole in ormolu.

From The Lion's Skin by Sabatini, Rafael

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