pulvinar

American  

[puhl-vahy-ner] / pʌlˈvaɪ nər /

noun

pulvinaria plural

1. (in ancient Rome)

   1. a cushioned couch kept in readiness for any visitation of a god.

   2. a cushioned seat at a circus.

2. Also called pulvinus.  (on an Ionic capital) either of two convex forms having on their ends two of the volutes.

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adjective

1. pulvinate.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• pulvinaria
  plural

Etymology

Origin of pulvinar

1590–1600; (noun) < Latin pulvīnar cushioned couch, equivalent to pulvīn ( us ) cushion + -ar, shortening of -āre, neuter of āris -ar ¹; (adj.) pulvin(us) + -ar ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pulvinar pulvinaria

Tyborowska, A., Volman, I., Smeekens, S., Toni, I. & Roelofs, K. Testosterone during puberty shifts emotional control from pulvinar to anterior prefrontal cortex.

From Nature ● Feb. 20, 2018

His throne was on the eastern side of the amphitheater, where a large space, called the pulvinar, was reserved, and richly decorated for the imperial court.

From Journeys Through Bookland, Vol. 4 by Sylvester, Charles Herbert

He left a number of "togae" to his Oxford friends, including Robert Holler, the son of his Norfolk neighbour, to whom he also bequeathed "unum pulvinar vocatum le bolstar."

From Life in the Medieval University by Rait, Robert S.

The lower portion is a semicircular pulvinar adorned with acanthus leaves, deeply undercut; the upper portion is occupied by a long inscription in raised ornamental letters to the honour of Justinian, Theodora, and S. Sergius.

From Byzantine Churches in Constantinople Their History and Architecture by Van Millingen, Alexander

The posterior knob-like extremity of the thalamus is called the pulvinar; this, as well as the two corpora geniculata and the superior corpus quadrigeminum, is connected with the optic tract.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 4 "Bradford, William" to "Brequigny, Louis" by Various

In this case the Sibylline books were not consulted, but Etruscan haruspices were called in, who simply ordered a supplicatio of the new kind, at the pulvinaria.

From The Religious Experience of the Roman People From the Earliest Times to the Age of Augustus by Fowler, W. Warde

The gods were formally invited, and attended; for the statues were brought in rich beds, furnished with soft pillows, called pulvinaria.

From The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 12, No. 342, November 22, 1828 by Various