egg-and-dart

9.6

A decorative border with egg-shaped parts next to pointed shapes used on classical buildings

noun
/ˈɛɡ ənd dɑrt/

Specialized

: huevo y flecha

The ornate cornice was decorated with an intricate egg-and-dart pattern along its edge.
egg-and-dart molding

Examples

Many ancient Greek temples used egg-and-dart molding to embellish their columns.
A restoration expert replicated the original egg-and-dart design in the historic building's interior.
Look at the egg-and-dart!
The egg-and-dart is lovely.
The architect chose an elegant egg-and-dart design for the frieze to enhance the building's classical style.
At the museum, we admired the ancient temple's beautifully crafted egg-and-dart moldings along the ceiling.
The egg-and-dart motif in the foyer added a touch of sophistication to the home's interior decor.

Synonyms

egg-and-tongue

vsegg-and-dart

Specialized

9.8

A decorative border with egg-shaped figures alternating with small pointed shapes

is the specific classical pattern alternating eggs with dart shapes

How Decorative

egg-and-dart

Specialized

9.6

bead and quirk

Specialized

9.9

beading

Specialized

5.4

molding

Specialized

26 4.4

Surface Forms

egg-and-dart singular

egg-and-darts plural

Morphology

egg-and-dart = egg + dart (transparent) = egg + dart

The term directly names a decorative motif made of alternating egg-shaped and dart-shaped elements, which is deducible from the component words.

Etymology

The word egg-and-dart is a simple name for a classic carved border: it shows repeating egg shapes next to pointed dart shapes, like eggs and small arrows in a row, and this pattern was used on ancient Greek and Roman buildings. That's why an egg-and-dart molding means the decorative carved pattern you see along the top of columns and cornices.