ornament definition

English ornament definition

Etymology

From Middle English ornament, from Old French ornement, from Latin ornamentum (“equipment, apparatus, furniture, trappings, adornment, embellishment”), from ornāre, present active infinitive of ornō (“I equip, adorn”). The verb is derived from the noun.

Pronunciation

• (noun)
  • (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɔː(ɹ)nəmənt/
  • (US) IPA^(key): /ˈɔɹnəmənt/, enPR: ôrʹnə-mənt

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

• (verb)
  • (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɔː(ɹ)nəmənt/, /ˈɔː(ɹ)nəˌmɛnt/
  • (US) IPA^(key): /ˈɔɹnəmənt/, /ˈɔɹnəˌmɛnt/, enPR: ôrʹnə-mənt, ôrʹnə-mĕnt'

Noun

ornament (countable and uncountable, plural ornaments)

2. An element of decoration; that which embellishes or adorns.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:decoration

   • 1864, Alfred Tennyson, “Aylmer’s Field”, in Enoch Arden, &c., London: Edward Moxon & Co., […], OCLC 879237670, page 51:

     Dust are our frames; and, gilded dust, our pride / Looks only for a moment whole and sound; / Like that long-buried body of the king / Found lying with his urns and ornaments, / Which at a touch of light, an air of heaven, / Slipt into ashes and was found no more.

   • 1919, P. G. Wodehouse, My Man Jeeves:

     I'm a bit short on brain myself; the old bean would appear to have been constructed more for ornament than for use.

   • 2012 March 1, Brian Hayes, “Pixels or Perish”, in American Scientist‎^[1], volume 100, number 2, page 106:

     Drawings and pictures are more than mere ornaments in scientific discourse. Blackboard sketches, geological maps, diagrams of molecular structure, astronomical photographs, MRI images, the many varieties of statistical charts and graphs: These pictorial devices are indispensable tools for presenting evidence, for explaining a theory, for telling a story.

3. A Christmas tree decoration.
4. (music) A musical flourish that is unnecessary to the overall melodic or harmonic line, but serves to decorate that line.
5. (Christianity, in the plural) The articles used in church services.
6. (biology) A characteristic that has a decorative function (typically in order to attract a mate)

Derived terms

• ornamental

Related terms

• ornate
• ornamentation
• adorn
• suborn

Translations

Verb

ornament (third-person singular simple present ornaments, present participle ornamenting, simple past and past participle ornamented)

2. To decorate.

   We will ornament the windows with trim to make the room seem brighter.

4. To add to.

   The editor ornamented his plain writing, making it fancier but less clear.

   • 2021 July 12, Nicholas Barber, “The French Dispatch: Four stars for Wes Anderson's latest”, in BBC‎^[2]:

     Not a scene goes by that hasn't been ornamented with a split screen, a freeze frame, a caption, a voice-over, a switch between monochrome and colour, or a change of the aspect radio[sic].

Conjugation

Synonyms

• (decorate): adorn, bedeck, decorate, embellish, trim

Translations

Further reading

• ornament in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• ornament in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

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Catalan ornament definition

Etymology

From Latin ornamentum.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic) IPA^(key): /oɾ.nəˈment/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /ur.nəˈmen/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /oɾ.naˈment/

Noun

ornament m (plural ornaments)

1. ornament

Derived terms

• ornamental

Further reading

• “ornament” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “ornament”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2022
• “ornament” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “ornament” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

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Norwegian Bokmål ornament definition

Etymology

From Latin ornamentum.

Noun

ornament n (definite singular ornamentet, indefinite plural ornament or ornamenter, definite plural ornamenta or ornamentene)

1. an ornament

Derived terms

• ornamentikk

References

• “ornament” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “ornament” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

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Norwegian Nynorsk ornament definition

Etymology

From Latin ornamentum.

Noun

ornament n (definite singular ornamentet, indefinite plural ornament, definite plural ornamenta)

1. an ornament

Derived terms

• ornamentikk

References

• “ornament” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

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Polish ornament definition

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin ōrnāmentum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɔrˈna.mɛnt/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -amɛnt
• Syllabification: or‧na‧ment

Noun

ornament m inan

1. (architecture, art, typography) ornament, adornment
2. (music) ornament

Declension

Descendants

• → Ukrainian: орна́мент (ornáment)

Further reading

• ornament in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• ornament in Polish dictionaries at PWN

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Romanian ornament definition

Etymology

From French ornament, from Latin ornamentum.

Noun

ornament n (plural ornamente)

1. ornament

Declension