Ornament

Ornament

Noun / Verb · /ˈɔː.nə.mənt/ (noun), /ˈɔː.nə.ment/ (verb)

Definition

(Noun) a thing used to make something more attractive or beautiful; a decorative object; an accessory to beauty; a person or thing that is considered an honour or credit to something — he was an ornament to his profession; (Verb) to decorate or adorn something with ornaments.

Origin

From Old French ornement and Latin ornamentum (equipment, adornment, decoration, distinction), from ornare (to equip, to adorn, to furnish — from an Indo-European root meaning to fit together, to arrange). Ornare also giving ornate and adorn (ad- + ornare). The Latin ornamentum having a broader sense than mere decoration — it included any equipment or furnishing that gave distinction or honour, and the sense of an ornament to one's profession preserving this broader Latin sense of something that furnishes distinction.