Emily Dickinson Lexicon
Definition for A-CANTH'US
A-CANTH-OP-TE-RYG'I-OUSA-CAN'TI-CONE
A-CANTH'US, n. [Gr. ακανθος, L. acanthus, from ακανθα, a prickle or thorn. See Acantha.]
- The plant bear's breech or brink ursine; a genus of several species, receiving their name from their prickles.
- In architecture, an ornament resembling the foliage or leaves of the acanthus, used in capitals of the Corinthian and Composite orders. – Milton. Encyc.
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