rococo

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   having excessive asymmetrical ornamentation

   An exquisite gilded rococo mirror.

2. 2
   noun

   A style of baroque architecture and decorative art, from 18th-century France, having elaborate ornamentation.

   They built a rococo aedicule that stands around the Tomb today.

3. 3
   noun

   A piece of ornamentation in this style.

   Above the two chief figures are rococos on either side of the clock face. These, like all the other work, are in bold relief and wrought with great delicacy and grace. On the top of the clock is a realistic scene from nature.

Simplified etymology

Rococo developed in French from rocaille, a term for 18th-century ornament made with shells and pebbles. Rocaille itself was based on French roc, “rock,” and French workmen altered it to rococo in the 19th century, initially as a term for something old-fashioned before it became the name of an artistic style.

Borrowed from French rococo.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary