trefoil
- noun
- /ˈtrɛfɔɪl/
- Specialized
:
trébol
- The cross-in-circle combination is, in turn, framed by a square, three sides of which practically mark the bases of the semicircular apses composing the all-inclusive trefoil.
- trefoil-shaped
Examples
-
In 1738, Hr built a trefoil-shaped building called the Trfle (Fig. 10).
Academic text (2003) -
Plate 16 in Wycherley 1980 indicates that the plan of the Roman-Corinthian apses was a trefoil.
Academic text (2000) -
Because I am focusing on the trefoil in this discussion, the question naturally arises:
Academic text (2000) -
It is in fact a trefoil, which you can see if I just untwist this and rearrange the knot a little bit.
-
Trefoil plans of other Neo-Byzantine churches of the Balkans, however, must not be labeled as "cruciform."
Academic text (2000) -
The lobes of the Littlecote trefoil are perfectly semicircular inside; only the outside walls of the apses look polygonal or faceted.
Academic text (2000) -
Crosses with trefoil-ended arms can now be found in all Romanian Orthodox churches—and, for that matter, graveyards.
Academic text (2000) -
Certain megalithic tombs appear to relinquish the two inferior lobes (legs), preserving only the head-and-breasts trefoil.
Academic text (2000) -
I know of no trefoil structures included in early basilican plans, except perhaps in the image of the twelfth-century Monastery Church of Studenica, in former Yugoslavia (Ostrogorsky 1969, fig. 56).
Academic text (2000) -
The Gothic cathedral was adorned with a beautiful trefoil ornament that added to its intricate design.
Compounds
A shrub with leaves in three parts, yellow flowers, and curving seed pods that smells bad when crushed
A small plant with yellow flowers and seed pods like a bird's foot often grown for animals to eat
- Irish
A clover with yellow flowers that grows in Ireland and is often seen as the real shamrock
A plant with leaves divided into three small parts and white or light purple flowers that grows at water edges
- UK
A small evergreen bush with soft hairy leaves, yellow summer flowers, and snail-shaped seed pods
A North American plant that lives for one year with bright pink or red pea-like flowers
An annual North American plant with red or pink flowers that grows in prairies
- Specialized
A plant with three small leaves and sticky pods that cling to clothes or animals
A small bush with three leaves and yellow flowers that smells bad when crushed
How Complex
1
8.2
- Specialized
1
9.4
- Specialized
- Specialized
1
9.6
- Specialized
220
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
trefoil = tre + foil
The ornamental sense is related to the idea 'three-leaved' which is derivable from the parts, but the combining forms and the architectural usage are specialized and may not be transparent to learners.
Etymology
The word trefoil also names a decorative shape of three round 'leaves' joined in a circle; it comes from Latin trifolium, from tri- meaning 'three' and folium meaning 'leaf', and this three-part design was often used in church art to suggest the Trinity.