Ornament

How to spell ornament

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce ornament

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does ornament mean?

1. nounA decorative object or detail added to something to make it more attractive.
2. verbTo decorate or embellish something with added detail.

Ornament in a sentence

• noun

  A small glass ornament sat on the mantelpiece above the fireplace.

• verb

  The bakers like to ornament each cake with sugar flowers.

• noun

  She packed each fragile ornament in tissue paper before the move.

• verb

  Craftsmen would ornament the silver cups with engraved patterns.

Where does ornament come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin ornamentum, meaning 'equipment, trappings, or an adornment', which was formed from the verb ornare, 'to fit out, equip, or adorn'. The original sense in Latin was surprisingly practical: it referred to the gear or apparatus that fitted something out, before narrowing to the idea of decorative embellishment. English took the word in during the 1200s through Old French ornement, at first in religious and ceremonial contexts for the furnishings and vestments of a church. Over time the meaning settled on any decorative object or detail added for beauty rather than use. The same Latin ornare also gives us 'adorn' and 'ornate', and remembering that orn- root helps explain why the middle vowel is the easily slurred schwa in 'or-na-ment'.

How the word is built

• orn- (from Latin ornare: to adorn, equip)
• -ment (suffix forming a noun of result)