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man·dor·la

(măn-dôrlə)

1. A pointed oval shape used in medieval Christian art as an aureole to surround a sacred figure.

2. See vesica piscis.

[Italian, almond, mandorla, from Vulgar Latin *amendola, almond, alteration of Latin amygdala; see ALMOND.]

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mandorla

c. 1200 miniature illumination from the Westminster Psalter

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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