Rococo
/roʊˈkoʊkoʊ/noun
An ornate, highly decorative style of art, architecture, and design popular in 18th-century Europe.
Did you know?The term likely grew out of French rocaille, the shell-and-rock ornament used in garden grottoes, and was once a jokingly dismissive label before becoming the name of an entire style.
Etymological Timeline
16th Century
French
rocaille
“Rockwork or shell decoration used in ornamental gardens and interiors”
17th Century
French
rococo
“A playful or pejorative term for elaborate, shell-like ornamentation”
18th Century
French
rococo
“An exuberantly ornate decorative style associated with curves, shells, and asymmetry”
18th Century
English
rococo
“A term adopted to describe the same highly ornamental style in art and design”
Modern English
English
rococo
“Excessively ornate or elaborately decorative, especially in art and design”