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Glite Dictionary
palmette

palmette

8.7
A decorative design like a palm leaf used in art and buildings
  • noun
  • /pælˈmɛt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : palmeta
  • Though the latter may find some relatives in Middle Assyrian glyptic, it will be seen below that the general form is most closely related to elaborate palmette trees in the artwork of the East Hurrian states.

Examples

  • The upper frieze shows alternating recumbent goats and palmette trees with volutes.

    Academic text (1991)

  • The artist incorporated a palmette pattern into the ceiling, giving it a rich and decorative appearance.

  • You can see this alternation of the Lotus and palmette leaves here.

  • The palmette tree consists of a thick trunk and a blossom with a white central petal and two blue outer petals.

    Academic text (1991)

  • The vase was adorned with beautiful palmette designs that resembled palm leaves.

  • In the grand hall, intricate palmette motifs lined the walls, creating an elegant atmosphere.

Synonyms

motif
vspalmette
17 5.3

A repeated decorative design used on clothes, walls or buildings

is a specific decorative form resembling a stylized palm leaf

How Decorative

palmette
  • Specialized
8.7
foliate
8.4
undecorated
1 3.9

Surface Forms

palmette singular
palmettes plural

Morphology

palmette = palm (semi-transparent) = palm + ette

Formed from 'palm' + the diminutive suffix '-ette' so the components are recognizable, but the art-historical sense 'stylized palm leaf motif' is a specialized usage borrowed from French and not fully predictable for all learners.

Etymology

Palmette comes from the Latin root palma, meaning 'palm', like a palm tree or the palm of your hand. So a palmette is a small decorative shape that looks like a palm leaf, which is why artists and architects used it to decorate buildings and objects.