adornment
(əˈdɔːnmənt)
Forms: 5 aournement, aornement, 5–6 adournement, 6 adornament, 6–7 adornement, 6– adornment.
[a. OFr. aournement, later adournement, adornement; f. aourner, adourner, to adorn + -ment, as if:—L. *adōrnāmentum, to which the Eng. spelling was occasionally assimilated.]
1. The action of adorning, or embellishing; embellishment, ornamentation.
| 1480 Caxton Ovid's Metam. x. vi, He..made to her many fayre aornamentis. 1614 Raleigh Hist. World (J.) The heavens, before they had motion and adornment. 1641 Milton Ch. Govt. ii. (1851) 145 All the industry and art I could unite to the adornment of my native tongue. 1877 A. Brassey Voy. in Sunbeam x. (1878) 163 The finest description used for personal adornment. |
2. A thing employed to adorn; an ornament, a decoration. With pl.
| 1489 Caxton Faytes of Armes i. v. 11 The ladies them self brought theyr jewellis and ryche adournemens. 1543 Blomeyr in Richm. Wills & Invent. (1853) 47 Decent kepyng and wesshyng of the adornaments belongyng to the altars. 1814 Byron Corsair iii. viii. 40 My steps will gently tread With these adornments. 1850 Blackie æschylus I. 28 Thou hast won thee rich adornments. 1859 Mrs. Schimmelpenninck Beauty i. ix. §29 The colouring, adornments, and furnishing of a room. |