noun. Any of various perennial herbs or small shrubs of the genus Acanthus, native to the Mediterranean and having pinnately lobed basal leaves with spiny margins and showy spikes of white or purplish flowers.

noun. A design patterned after the leaves of one of these plants, used especially on the capitals of Corinthian columns.

noun. In botany, a genus of tall herbaceous plants of southern Europe and Africa, natural order Acanthaceæ.

noun. [lowercase] The common name of plants of this genus. In zoology, a genus of crustaceans. [lowercase] In architecture, a characteristic ornament derived from or resembling the conventionalized foliage or leaves of the acanthus, used in capitals of the Corinthian and Composite orders, and in Roman, Byzantine, medieval, and Renaissance architecture generally, as upon friezes, cornices, modillions, etc.

noun. A genus of herbaceous prickly plants, found in the south of Europe, Asia Minor, and India; bear's-breech.

noun. An ornament resembling the foliage or leaves of the acanthus (Acanthus spinosus); -- used in the capitals of the Corinthian and Composite orders.

noun. any plant of the genus Acanthus having large spiny leaves and spikes or white or purplish flowers; native to Mediterranean region but widely cultivated

"The Corinthian order is also very feminine in nature, characterised primarily by its ornate capitals, which sport two rows of sculpted acanthus leaves with small volutes spiral scrolls in the corners."

acantha  

azaleas  cardoon  erica  fernlike  freesia  

bear's breech  bear's breeches  bear's-breech  

acanthi