the.com/festoon
the verb that struts in whenever decoration refuses to know its limits
means To decorate something lavishly, especially by draping it with garlands, chains, or hanging ornaments in graceful curves.
from From French feston, borrowed from Italian festone — a festive ornament — which traces back to Latin festum, 'feast.' So the word carries its party origins in its bones: a festoon is literally the dressing-up that a feast demands, the looping garland that says celebration is happening here.
- origin
- From French feston, meaning a decorative garland or chain
- shape
- Classically a hanging curve, drooping at the middle
- architecture
- Carved festoons adorn temples, tombs, and Roman friezes
- verb turn
- To festoon is to overdecorate with cheerful abandon
- dental
- Festooning also describes shaping gum-line contours in dentures
royal albert hall — decorated with elaborate festoons for the proms since 1941
versailles palace — hall of mirrors features ornate festoons in gilt and plasterwork
christmas street decorations — commercial festoons of lights strung across oxford street london annually