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a·dorn

(ə-dôrn)

tr.v. a·dorned, a·dorn·ing, a·dorns

1. To lend beauty to: flowers adorned the walkway.

2. To enhance or decorate with or as if with ornaments: "[He] requires the presence of titles to legitimate and adorn ... his imperfect status" (Cynthia Ozick).

[Middle English adornen, from Old French adourner, from Latin adōrnāre : ad-, ad- + ōrnāre, to decorate; see ar- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

a·dorner n.

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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