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rocaille

[roh-kahy; French raw-kah-yuh]
noun
  1. 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 roc rock1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for rocaille

Historical Examples

  • After the death of its owner society, in a fit of madness, plunged into the rocaille.

    The House in Good Taste

    Elsie de Wolfe

  • He had a most marvelous power of invention and lavished ornament on everything, carrying the rocaille style to its utmost limit.

British Dictionary definitions for rocaille

rocaille

noun
  1. decorative rock or shell work, esp as ornamentation in a rococo fountain, grotto, or interior
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Word Origin

from French, from roc rock 1
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