historiated

adjective

his·​to·​ri·​at·​ed

-rēˌātə̇d

: adorned with figures (as flowers, animals) having significance rather than purely decorative elements (as scrolls, diapers)

—used originally of the elaborately decorated initials of books and manuscripts and now chiefly of a symbolic representational manner of presenting supplementary information on a map or chart

Word History

Etymology

Medieval Latin historiatus (past participle of historiare to tell a story in pictures, from Late Latin, to relate, from Latin historia narrative, history) + English -ed

Love words?

You must — there are over 200,000 words in our free online dictionary, but you are looking for one that’s only in the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary.

Start your free trial today and get unlimited access to America's largest dictionary, with:

• More than 250,000 words that aren't in our free dictionary
• Expanded definitions, etymologies, and usage notes
• Advanced search features
• Ad free!