barley-sugar column

noun

bar·​ley-sugar column

: a twisted architectural column : salomónica

The fine 15th-century church has twisted barley-sugar columns and old tombs set in the floor.

—Paul Lewis, New York Times, 30 Nov. 1986

Within its high outer walls is a luscious Gothic cloister oozing with delicate tracery and twisted barley sugar columns.

—Catherine Slessor, Architectural Review, February 2010

Word History

First Known Use

1937, in the meaning defined above

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