bucranium

noun

bu·​cra·​ni·​um

byüˈkrānēəm

variants or less commonly bucrane

(ˈ)byü¦krān

plural bucrania

byüˈkrānēə

also bucranes

: a sculptured ornament (as on a Roman Ionic or Corinthian frieze) composed of an ox skull adorned with ribbons or garlands

Word History

Etymology

Latin, from Greek boukranion ox head, from bous ox, head of cattle + kranion skull

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