arabesque

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

noun position in which the dancer has one leg raised behind and arms outstretched in a conventional pose
noun an ornament that interlaces simulated foliage in an intricate design

Borrowed from French arabesque, from Italian arabesco, from arabo (“Arab”). By surface analysis, Arab + -esque.

There were no whorls, no arabesques. — Changeling, and Other Stories, Donn Byrne
The outside pattern is a florid arabesque, reminding one of a fungus. — The Yellow Wallpaper, Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Their breastplates were adorned with arabesques or repousse work of the highest art. — The Young Carthaginian: A Story of The Times of Hannibal, G. A. (George Alfred) Henty

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