Karyatids
/ˌkær.iˈæt.ɪdz/noun
Architectural columns carved in the form of female figures.
Did you know?The name comes from Karyai, an ancient Greek town tied to Artemis, so every karyatid carries a place-name’s shadow into stone.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
Καρυάτιδες (Karyátides)
“Female figures used as architectural supports, originally linked to women of Karyai”
Late Latin
Latin
caryatides
“Karyatid figures in architecture”
Renaissance Latin
Latin
caryatides
“Classical architectural female supports”
16th Century
English
caryatides
“Stone female figures serving as columns or supports”
Modern English
English
karyatids
“Female sculpted supports in architecture”