Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Something that decorates or adorns; an embellishment.
  • noun A person considered as a source of pride, honor, or credit.
  • noun Music A note or group of notes that embellishes a melody.
  • transitive verb To furnish with ornaments.
  • transitive verb To be an ornament to.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Any accessory, adjunct, or trapping that serves for use or for both use and adornment, or such accessories, adjuncts, or trappings collectively; hence, equipment, vesture, dress, attire, etc.
  • noun Something added as an embellishment; that which embellishes or adorns; whatever lends or is intended to lend grace or beauty to that to which it is added or belongs, as a jewel, a rhetorical embellishment, etc.
  • noun An honorary distinction; a decoration; a mark of honor.
  • noun One who adds luster to one's sphere or surroundings: as, he is an ornament of his profession.
  • noun Embellishment or adornments collectively or in the abstract; adornment; ornamentation; decoration: as, a thing suitable for either use or ornament.
  • noun Outward appearance; mere display.
  • noun Synonyms Embellishment, adornment. See adorn.
  • To adorn; deck; embellish: as, to ornament a building with sculpture or painting.
  • Synonyms Adorn, Ornament, Decorate, etc. See adorn.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun That which embellishes or adorns; that which adds grace or beauty; embellishment; decoration; adornment.
  • transitive verb To adorn; to deck; to embellish; to beautify.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun An element of decoration.
  • noun A Christmas tree decoration
  • noun music A musical flourish that are unnecessary to the overall melodic or harmonic line, but serve to decorate or "ornament" that line.
  • verb To decorate.
  • verb To add to.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb be an ornament to
  • verb make more attractive by adding ornament, colour, etc.
  • noun something used to beautify

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English ournement, from Old French ornement, from Latin ōrnāmentum, from ōrnāre, to adorn; see ar- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English ornament, from Old French ornement, from Latin ornamentum ("equipment, apparatus, furniture, trappings, adornment, embellishment"), from ornare ("to equip, adorn").

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