baroque

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   having elaborate symmetrical ornamentation

   the building...frantically baroque-William Dean Howells

2. 2
   adj

   Characteristic of Western art and music of the Early Modern period.

   According to baroque.org, characteristics of baroque music include loud and soft dynamics, emphasis on harmony, and the use of string instruments and the harpsichord.

3. 3
   adj

   Overly and needlessly complicated.

   grotesquely baroque bureaucratic hassles

4. 4
   noun

   An ornate, detailed style.

   […] has semi-circular arches similar to those in Bourges, but pierced by unusual and irregular openings, and ringed with amusing portrait heads such as would not be found in the great Gothic Baroques of France.

5. 5
   adj

   of or relating to or characteristic of the elaborately ornamented style of architecture, art, and music popular in Europe between 1600 and 1750

6. 6
   noun

   elaborate and extensive ornamentation in decorative art and architecture that flourished in Europe in the 17th century

7. 7
   adj

   From or characteristic of the Baroque period.

8. 8
   name

   A period in Western architecture, art, and music from c. 1600–1760 CE, known for its abundance of drama, rich color, and extensive ornamentation.

Etymology

Via French baroque (which originally meant a pearl of irregular shape), from Portuguese barroco (“irregular pearl”); related to Spanish barrueco and Italian barocco, of uncertain ultimate origin, but possibly from Latin verrūca (“wart”). It has been suggested that the term derives from Baroco, a technical term from scholastic logic.