Associations to the word «Acanthus»

Pictures for the word «Acanthus»

Wiktionary

ACANTHUS, noun. A member of the genus Acanthus of herbaceous prickly plants with toothed leaves, (family Acanthaceae, order Scrophulariales) found in the south of Europe, Asia Minor, and India.[First attested in the mid 16th century.]
ACANTHUS, noun. (architecture) An ornament resembling the foliage or leaves of Acanthus spinosus used in the capitals of the Corinthian and composite orders.[First attested in the mid 18th century.]
ACANTHUS, proper noun. A taxonomic genus within the family Acanthaceae   — prickly herbs that grow in the Mediterranean; the acanthuses.
ACANTHUS MOLLIS, proper noun. A taxonomic species within the family Acanthaceae   — the bear's breeches.

Dictionary definition

ACANTHUS, noun. Any plant of the genus Acanthus having large spiny leaves and spikes or white or purplish flowers; native to Mediterranean region but widely cultivated.

Wise words

Words are always getting conventionalized to some secondary meaning. It is one of the works of poetry to take the truants in custody and bring them back to their right senses.
William Butler Yeats