arabesque

1 of 2

noun

ar·​a·​besque ˌa-rə-ˈbesk 

ˌer-ə

1

: an ornament or style that employs flower, foliage, or fruit and sometimes animal and figural outlines to produce an intricate pattern of interlaced lines

2

: a posture (as in ballet) in which the body is bent forward from the hip on one leg with one arm extended forward and the other arm and leg backward

3

: an elaborate or intricate pattern

… richly pierced by an arabesque of wormholes.

—John Chase

an arabesque of vines and leaves

Illustration of arabesque

• arabesque 1

arabesque

2 of 2

adjective

: of, relating to, or being in the style of arabesque or an arabesque

arabesque frescoes

Examples of arabesque in a Sentence

Noun

The students practiced their arabesques.

She held her arms in arabesque.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Thus Andy Dixon paints Day-Glo takes on Rococo romances, with sculptural nudes draped in loose tunics cavorting around pleasure gardens dotted with classical statuary; these same motifs are distilled into dainty arabesques and diaphanous whorls in the abstract canvases of Michaela Yearwood-Dan. —Rachel Wetzler, Artforum, 1 Dec. 2024

Ruble perfected her movements in sync with the music and the other dancers, her head tilted at just the right angle, her arabesque hitting the correct line, her discipline and note-taking clearly paying off. —Alexis Landau, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2024

Adjective

Not least in its dramatic centerpiece: a 20-meter pool featuring eight columns of arabesque marble, with sparkling niches of black-and-gold housing both relaxation areas and 19th-century replicas of classical statues. —Liam Hess, Vogue, 21 Nov. 2024

An untitled painting by Mark Rothko, meanwhile, went for $5.1 million with fees on a $3 million high estimate, and Edgar Degas’s bronze sculpture Grande arabesque, troisième temps, the first lot of the evening, sold for $1.7 million with fees on a $600,000 high estimate. —Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 19 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Adjective and Noun

French, from Italian arabesco Arabian in fashion, from arabo Arab, from Latin Arabus

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1720, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

circa 1656, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

arabesque

noun

ar·​a·​besque

ˌar-ə-ˈbesk

: an ornament or style of decoration that uses outlines of flowers, leaves, branches, or fruit and sometimes animal and human figures to produce a pattern of lines that cross over one another

arabesque adjective