BUCRANIUM Definition & Meaning

bucranium

[ byoo-krey-nee-uhm ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

plural bucrania

(in classical architecture) an ornament, especially on a frieze, having the form of the skull of an ox.

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of bucranium¹

1850–55; < Late Latin ��ū��Ծ��ܳ� < Greek ��ǳܰ��́�Ծ� ( on ) an ox-head, equivalent to Greek bou- (stem of ��û�� ) ox + ��í�ǲ� cranium

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

But the head of a musician is harder than a bucranium, and the blows which Théophile received did not avail to modify that angel's notion of divine providence.

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A decoration in white paint over the doorways of certain houses in the south is a relic of the religious custom of placing a bucranium there to avert evil.

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