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

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

On the northern side, not directly opposite to the pulvinar, but considerably nearer the eastern end, the "Porta Pomp�," there were projecting boxes for the bridegroom, his most intimate friends, and his most distinguished guests.

From The Scarlet Banner by Dahn, Felix

This stripe results from a layer of nerve-fibres, many of which are 409 axones from the neurones of the lateral geniculate body and the pulvinar, the grey masses directly connected with the optic nerve-fibres.

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

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