adorn

Etymology

From Middle English adornen, adournen, from Latin adōrnāre; from ad +‎ ōrnō (“furnish, embellish”). See adore, ornate. Replaced earlier Middle English aournen (“to adorn”) borrowed from Old French aorner, from the same Latin source.

Pronunciation

(US) IPA^(key): /əˈdɔɹn/
(UK) IPA^(key): /əˈdɔː(ɹ)n/
Audio (US): (file)
Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)n

Verb

adorn (third-person singular simple present adorns, present participle adorning, simple past and past participle adorned)

To make more beautiful and attractive; to decorate.
Synonyms: beautify, bedeck, decorate, deck, grace, ornament, prettify; see also Thesaurus:decorate

a man adorned with noble statuary and columns

a character adorned with every Christian grace

A gallery of paintings was adorned with the works of some of the great masters.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Isaiah 61:10:
  as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels
- 1770, [Oliver] Goldsmith, The Deserted Village, a Poem, London: […] W[illiam] Griffin, […], →OCLC, page 10:
  At church, with meek and unaffected grace, / His looks adorned the venerable place; / Truth from his lips prevailed with double ſway, / And fools, who came to ſcoff, remained to pray.
- 1980, Robert M. Jones, editor, Walls and Ceilings, Time-Life Books, →ISBN, page 38:
  Durable, water-resistant and easy to clean, tiles have adorned Persian mosques, Moorish palaces and the parlors of Dutch burgers.

Derived terms

Translations

to make more beautiful and attractive; to decorate

Arabic: زَيَّنَ (ar) (zayyana), زَخْرَفَ (zaḵrafa)
Armenian: զարդարել (hy) (zardarel)
Azerbaijani: bəzəmək (az), zinətləndirmək, gözəlləşdirmək, qəşəngləşdirmək
Bulgarian: украсявам (bg) (ukrasjavam), окичвам (bg) (okičvam)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 点缀 (zh) (diǎnzhuì), 修饰 (zh) (xiūshì)
Cornish: takla
Czech: zdobit (cs)
Danish: pryde, udsmykke, smykke (da)
Dutch: sieren (nl)
Esperanto: ornami
Finnish: komistaa (fi), koristaa (fi), koristella (fi)
French: décorer (fr), orner (fr), parer (fr)
Galician: adornar (gl)
German: schmücken (de), zieren (de), verzieren (de)
Greek: διακοσμώ (el) (diakosmó)
Ancient: κοσμέω (kosméō), δαιδάλλω (daidállō) (Epic)
Hebrew: עיטר (he) (itér), קישט (kishét)
Ingrian: koristaa
Italian: adornare (it), ornare (it), fregiare, abbellire (it), contornare (it), decorare (it), imbellettare
Japanese: 飾る (ja) (kazaru)
Korean: 꾸미다 (ko) (kkumida)
Latin: adōrnō, como
Maori: rākai, rākei
Old English: hrēodan, ġefrætwian
Persian: آراستن (fa), پیراستن (fa)
Polish: dekorować (pl), ozdabiać (pl), adornować (pl) impf or pf (obsolete)
Portuguese: enfeitar (pt), adornar (pt)
Romagnol: adubêr
Romanian: decora (ro), ornamenta (ro), înfrumuseța (ro), împodobi (ro), orna (ro)
Russian: украша́ть (ru) impf (ukrašátʹ), укра́сить (ru) pf (ukrásitʹ)
Scottish Gaelic: sgeadaich
Spanish: adornar (es), ornar (es), engalanar (es), enchular (es) (Latin America)
Swedish: pryda (sv), smycka (sv)
Tocharian B: yät-
Turkmen: bezemek (tk)
Volapük: dekön (vo)
Woiwurrung: tirredoon-boorndoen

Noun

adorn

(obsolete) adornment
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto XII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
  Her brest all naked, as nett yvory
  Without adorne of gold or silver bright

Adjective

adorn

(obsolete) adorned; ornate
- 1667, John Milton, “(please specify the page number)”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
  And to realities yield all her shows:
  Made so adorn for thy delight the more

Related terms

Anagrams

Ardon, Daron, rando, Andro, Ronda, radon, Norad, NORAD, Doran, andro, Drona, andor, norad, Nador, and/or, Nardo, andro-

Remove ads