rocaille
[ roh-kahy; French raw-kah-yuh ]
/ roʊˈkaɪ; French rɔˈkɑ yə /
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noun
Fine Arts. any of the fantastic ornamental, often asymmetrical, combinations characteristic of the Rococo period, consisting of rock, shell, and plant forms combined with artificial forms, esp C-curves.
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Origin of rocaille
1855–60; <French: pebble-work, derivative of rocrock1
Words nearby rocaille
robusta coffee, robustious, robustness, roc, Roca, rocaille, rocambole, Rocard, Rocephin, Rochalimaea, Rochambeau
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for rocaille
He had a most marvelous power of invention and lavished ornament on everything, carrying the rocaille style to its utmost limit.
Furnishing the Home of Good Taste|Lucy Abbot ThroopAfter the death of its owner society, in a fit of madness, plunged into the rocaille.
The House in Good Taste|Elsie de Wolfe
British Dictionary definitions for rocaille
rocaille
/ (rɒˈkaɪ) /
noun
decorative rock or shell work, esp as ornamentation in a rococo fountain, grotto, or interior
Word Origin for rocaille
from French, from roc rock 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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