Emily Dickinson Lexicon

A-CANTH'US, n. [Gr. ακανθος, L. acanthus, from ακανθα, a prickle or thorn. See Acantha.]

1. The plant bear's breech or brink ursine; a genus of several species, receiving their name from their prickles.
2. In architecture, an ornament resembling the foliage or leaves of the acanthus, used in capitals of the Corinthian and Composite orders. – Milton. Encyc.