Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🏰 Moorish style 🟦 Moorish design 🧕 Moorish person
mauresque

mauresque

9.9
Relating to the art and buildings of the Moors in Spain or North Africa
  • adjective
  • /mɔːˈrɛsk/
  • Specialized
translation icon : mauresque
  • She admired the mauresque arches that decorated the entrance to the old city.

Examples

  • The palace featured mauresque tiles and intricate geometric patterns throughout its halls.

  • The artist incorporated mauresque motifs into his latest collection of paintings.

  • The mauresque tiles in the courtyard are stunning.

  • She loves the mauresque style of architecture.

  • The palace featured mauresque tiles and intricate geometric patterns throughout its halls.

  • She admired the mauresque arches that decorated the entrance to the old city.

  • The artist incorporated mauresque motifs into his latest collection of paintings.

Synonyms

Moorish
vsmauresque
4 7.9

Connected with the Moors and their art or building style

focuses specifically on art and architecture resembling those regional styles
Moresque
vsmauresque
  • Formal
9.9

Having the style of art and buildings made by the Moors

is broader, relating to resemblance in style and region rather than only art

Surface Forms

mauresque positive

Morphology

mauresque = moor (semi-transparent) = moor + esque

The word is built from 'moor' plus the recognizable suffix '-esque', but the borrowed spelling and the specialized stylistic sense make it only partly transparent.

Etymology

Mauresque comes from the French word for the Moor, people from North Africa who once ruled parts of Spain, and it was used for the rich arches, tiles and geometric patterns they made. So, mauresque means 'in the Moorish style', especially for art and architecture.