Category:Arabesque

Ar`a*besque", n. Etym: [F. arabesque, fr. It. arabesco, fr. Arabo Arab.]

Defn: A style of ornamentation either painted, inlaid, or carved in low relief. It consists of a pattern in which plants, fruits, foliage, etc., as well as figures of men and animals, real or imaginary, are fantastically interlaced or put together.

Note: It was employed in Roman imperial ornamentation, and appeared, without the animal figures, in Moorish and Arabic decorative art. (See Moresque.) The arabesques of the Renaissance were founded on Greco-Roman work.

Ar`a*besque", a.

1. Arabian. [Obs.]

2. Relating to, or exhibiting, the style of ornament called arabesque; as, arabesque frescoes.