Dictionary Definition
festoon
Noun
1 a curtain of fabric draped and bound at
intervals to form graceful loops
2 an embellishment consisting of a decorative
representation of a string of flowers suspended between two points;
used on pottery or in architectural work
3 flower chains suspended in loops between points
[syn: festoonery] v :
decorate with strings of flowers; "The public buildings were
festooned for the holiday"
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Noun
Translations
ornament
- Finnish: koristeköynnös
- German: Feston, Girlande
cloud formation on Jupiter
- Finnish: silta
cable with light globes attached
- Finnish: valoköynnös
- German: Lichterkette
Verb
- To hang or make festoons.
Translations
to hang or make festoons
- Finnish: koristaa köynnöksin
Extensive Definition
Festoon (from French
feston, Italian
festone, from a Late Latin
festo, originally a festal garland, Latin festum, feast), a
wreath or garland, and so in architecture
a conventional arrangement of flowers, foliage or fruit bound together and suspended
by ribbons, either from a
decorated knot, or held in
the mouths of lions, or
suspended across the back of bulls heads as in
the Temple of
Vesta at Tivoli. The
motif is sometimes known as a swag when depicting fabric or
linen.
The design was largely employed both by the
Ancient
Greeks and Romans and
formed the principal decoration of altars, friezes and panels. The
ends of the ribbons are sometimes formed into bows or twisted
curves; when in addition a group of foliage or flowers is
suspended, it is called a drop or margent.
Its origin is probably due to the representation
in stone of the garlands of natural flowers, etc., which were hung
up over an entrance doorway on fête days, or suspended round the
altar.
The motif was
later used in neo-classical
architecture and decorative arts, especially ceramics
and the work of silversmiths.
References
- Dictionary of Ornament
Festoon Inc. Company
Festoon Inc. also appears to be a company that publishes codecs and plugins that enable multi-user video chat for Skype and Google Talk (Festoon Unity) and ClipSync that lets users of these services watch the same video at the same time. www.festooninc.comAs of November 11, 2007 www.festooninc.com seems to have
been taken over by a domain squatter.
festoon in Catalan: Fistó
festoon in Czech: Feston
festoon in German: Feston
festoon in Spanish: Festón
festoon in Hungarian: Füzérdísz
festoon in Dutch: Festoen
festoon in Polish: Feston
festoon in Swedish: Festong
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
arc,
boughpot, bouquet, boutonniere, bow, bravery, buttonhole, catacaustic, catenary, caustic, chaplet, chiffon, circle, clinquant, conchoid, corsage, crook, curl, curve, diacaustic, ellipse, festoons, finery, flower arrangement,
folderol, foofaraw, frilliness, frilling, frills, frills and furbelows,
frippery, froufrou, fuss, gaiety, garland, gaudery, gilding, gilt, gingerbread, hook, hyperbola, lei, lituus, nosegay, parabola, paste, pinchbeck, posy, sinus, spray, superfluity, tinsel, tracery, trappings, trickery, trumpery, wreath