sinuous
adjective
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Although it probably makes you think more of snakes than head colds, sinuous is etymologically more like sinus than serpent. Sinuous and sinus both derive from the Latin noun sinus, which means "curve, fold, or hollow." Other sinus descendants include insinuate ("to impart or suggest in an artful or indirect way") and two terms you might remember from math class: sine and cosine. In English, sinus is the oldest of these words; it entered the language in the 1400s. Insinuate appeared next, in the early 1500s, and was followed by sinuous and sine in the latter half of the 1500s, and cosine in the 1600s. Serpent, by the way, entered English in the 13th century and comes from the Latin verb serpere, meaning "to creep."
Synonyms
Examples of sinuous in a Sentence
Ara H. Merjian, ARTnews.com, 4 Oct. 2024
Their sinuous design was also tweaked with colored stones in rings and bangles intended to be playfully stacked as in the brand’s signature approach.
—Sandra Salibian, WWD, 3 Oct. 2024
The packaging is made of translucent glass, with a fluid and sinuous shape.
—Sofia Viganò, Vogue, 2 Oct. 2024
The path that led Romeo Okwara to his new home outside of Detroit is as long and sinuous as the many rivers, lagoons, and estuaries that feed into his native Lagos.
—Nick Mafi, Architectural Digest, 23 Sep. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Sinuous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sinuous. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
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