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ornament

[noun awr-nuh-muhnt; verb awr-nuh-ment, -muhnt]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ornament ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an accessory, article, or detail used to beautify the appearance of something to which it is added or of which it is a part: architectural ornaments.

a system, category, or style of such objects or features; ornamentation: a book on Gothic ornament.

any adornment or means of adornment.

a person or thing that adds to the credit or glory of a society, era, etc.

the act of adorning.

the state of being adorned.

mere outward display: a speech more of ornament than of ideas.

Chiefly Ecclesiastical. any accessory, adjunct, or equipment.

Music. a tone or group of tones applied as decoration to a principal melodic tone.

verb (used with object)

to furnish with ornaments; embellish: to ornament a musical composition.

to be an ornament to: Several famous scientists were acquired to ornament the university.

Origin of ornament

1175–1225; < Latin ornāmentum equipment, ornament, equivalent to ornā(re) to equip + -mentum -ment; replacing Middle English ornement < Old French < Latin, as above

Related formsor·na·ment·er, nouno·ver·or·na·ment, verb (used with object)re·or·na·ment, verb (used with object)su·per·or·na·ment, nounsu·per·or·na·ment, verb (used with object)

Synonyms for ornament

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ornament ON THESAURUS.COM

1. embellishment. 3, 5. decoration. 10, 11. decorate, adorn, grace.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for ornament

flower, art, treasure, jewel, trinket, accessory, adornment, embroidery, knickknack, bauble, bedeck, embellish, festoon, beautify, embroider, adorn, embellishment, pride, gewgaw, doodad

Examples from the Web for ornament

Contemporary Examples of ornament

McConnell soon followed, beaming like an ornament atop a Christmas tree.
Mitch’s Brotastic Victory Bash
Olivia Nuzzi
November 5, 2014
It is your ornament, your grace, your seduction, your chant for courting.
‘Mirages’: Anaïs Nin’s Intimate, Unexpurgated Diaries
Lizzie Crocker
October 26, 2013

Historical Examples of ornament

But this man must be secure that humility would be an ornament to him.
Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson
And I was within an ace of becoming an ornament of the British peerage.
The Bacillus of Beauty
Harriet Stark
Silence is the ornament of your sex; and in silence, if there be not wisdom, there is safety.
Tales And Novels, Volume 4 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth
Cover the pie with a crust, notch and ornament it, and bake it well.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches
Eliza Leslie
Notch and ornament it handsomely with leaves and flowers of paste.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches
Eliza Leslie

British Dictionary definitions for ornament

ornament

noun (ˈɔːnəmənt)

anything that enhances the appearance of a person or thing

decorations collectivelyshe was totally without ornament

a small decorative object

something regarded as a source of pride or beauty

music any of several decorations, such as the trill, mordent, etc, occurring chiefly as improvised embellishments in baroque music

verb (ˈɔːnəˌmɛnt) (tr)

to decorate with or as if with ornaments

to serve as an ornament to

Derived Formsornamentation, noun

Word Origin for ornament

C14: from Latin ornāmentum, from ornāre to adorn

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

Word Origin and History for ornament

n.

early 13c., "an accessory," from Old French ornement "ornament, decoration," and directly from Latin ornamentum "apparatus, equipment, trappings; embellishment, decoration, trinket," from ornare "equip, adorn" (see ornate). Meaning "decoration, embellishment" in English is attested from late 14c. (also a secondary sense in classical Latin). Figurative use from 1550s.

v.

1720, from ornament (n.). Middle English used ournen (late 14c.) in this sense, from Old French orner, from Latin ornare. Related: Ornamented; ornamenting.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper