garniture

noun

gar·ni·ture ˈgär-ni-chər

-nə-ˌchu̇r

Synonyms of garniture next

: embellishment, trimming

: a set of decorative objects (such as vases, urns, or clocks)

Did you know?

In Middle French, garniture meant "accessory." It is an alteration of the Old French noun garneture, which is derived from the verb garnir, which meant "to equip, trim, or decorate." In fact, an Anglo-French stem of garnir, garniss-, is the source of the English verb garnish, which in its senses of "to decorate" and "to embellish" shares a similar relationship to garniture that the verb furnish shares with furniture. Furnish comes from the Anglo-French furniss-, a stem of the verb furnir or fournir, which also gave rise to the Middle French fourniture, the source of the English furniture.

Examples of garniture in a Sentence

she prefers a spare style of interior decoration and doesn't go in for a lot of garnitures

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Instead, the piece is most commonly used as either a mantel garniture (there were two matching pieces that often came with it, small compotes for the garniture) or as a table centerpiece (often with two diminutive candelabra). —

Helaine Fendelman and Joe Rosson, Star Tribune, 1 Dec. 2020 Who knew the colder months could offer such lush (not to mention tasty) fodder for garniture. —

Rachel Silva, ELLE Decor, 16 Dec. 2022 Your clock garniture set is by Tiffany & Company of New York and dates to the last quarter of the 19th century. —

oregonlive, 2 Dec. 2021

Word History

Etymology

Middle English garnetture "border, trimming" (Early Modern English garniture "appurtenances"), borrowed from Anglo-French gerneiture, garniture "ornament, mount for a jewel" & Middle French garniture "accessory," going back to Old French garneture "accessory for a saddle," from garnir "to equip, trim, decorate" + -eture, -iture, going back to Latin -ītūra, from -īt-, participle ending of 4th conjugation verbs + -ūra -ure — more at garnish entry 1