Illustration of caryatid
caryatid
noun
cary·at·id ˌker-ē-ˈa-təd 
ˌka-rē-;
ˈker-ē-ə-ˌtid ˈka-rē-
plural caryatids or caryatides ˌker-ē-ˈa-tə-ˌdēz
ˌka-rē-
: a draped female figure supporting an entablature
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web This living room, with its heavy red curtains and giant caryatids framing the chimney, was one of several that was ultimately scrapped. 
Jason Farago, New York Times, 6 Feb. 2020 The caryatid, which first came about in ancient Greece, is a carving of a standing woman used as a column to support an architectural structure. Domenica Bongiovanni, Indianapolis Star, 10 Dec. 2019 Her inaugural works for the Met’s façade—a set of four female bronze caryatids, larger than life and stylized in the tradition of high-ranking African women—challenge the institution’s own history of Eurocentrism and patriarchy. Time Staff, Time, 20 Dec. 2019 As the centuries went on, caryatids took on different postures and expressions in religious buildings and other facades. Domenica Bongiovanni, Indianapolis Star, 10 Dec. 2019 Mutu’s are no ordinary caryatids, and herein lies the source of her feminist intervention. Daniel Gelernter, National Review, 21 Sep. 2019 The female figures are reminiscent of caryatids, seen in both ancient Greek temples and in the centuries-old carvings of the Luba people from Central Africa. The New Yorker, 25 May 2018 Its exterior renovation included the replacement of 2,483 historically accurate windows and restoration of the decorative cornice complete with caryatid statues. John Gallagher, Detroit Free Press, 4 Sep. 2019 So too did caryatids, stone sculptures of women that structurally hold up Greek temples, that provided the inspiration for one of the collection’s key silhouettes. Washington Post, 1 July 2019 See More
Jason Farago, New York Times, 6 Feb. 2020 The caryatid, which first came about in ancient Greece, is a carving of a standing woman used as a column to support an architectural structure. Domenica Bongiovanni, Indianapolis Star, 10 Dec. 2019 Her inaugural works for the Met’s façade—a set of four female bronze caryatids, larger than life and stylized in the tradition of high-ranking African women—challenge the institution’s own history of Eurocentrism and patriarchy. Time Staff, Time, 20 Dec. 2019 As the centuries went on, caryatids took on different postures and expressions in religious buildings and other facades. Domenica Bongiovanni, Indianapolis Star, 10 Dec. 2019 Mutu’s are no ordinary caryatids, and herein lies the source of her feminist intervention. Daniel Gelernter, National Review, 21 Sep. 2019 The female figures are reminiscent of caryatids, seen in both ancient Greek temples and in the centuries-old carvings of the Luba people from Central Africa. The New Yorker, 25 May 2018 Its exterior renovation included the replacement of 2,483 historically accurate windows and restoration of the decorative cornice complete with caryatid statues. John Gallagher, Detroit Free Press, 4 Sep. 2019 So too did caryatids, stone sculptures of women that structurally hold up Greek temples, that provided the inspiration for one of the collection’s key silhouettes. Washington Post, 1 July 2019 See More Word History
Etymology
Latin caryatides, plural, from Greek karyatides priestesses of Artemis at Caryae, caryatids, from Karyai Caryae in Laconia
First Known Use
1563, in the meaning defined above
caryatids
noun
variants or caryatides
as in pilasters
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- pilasters
- pedestals
- columns
- pillars
- piers
- stanchions
- buttresses
- obelisks
- posts
- pilings
- flying buttresses
- needles
- piles
- bursting (in or into)
- bursting charge
- bursting forth
- bursting heart
- bursting in or into
- bursting into
- bursting out
- bursting point
- bursting strength
- burstone
- burstones
- bursts
- bursts (forth)
- bursts (in or into)
- bursts forth
- bursts in or into
- bursts into
- bursts out
- burstwort
- bursula
- bursulae
- burta
- burthen
- burthened
- burthening