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car·y·at·id

(kăr′ē-ătĭd)

n. pl. car·y·at·ids or car·y·at·i·des (-ĭ-dēz′)
Architecture

A supporting column sculptured in the form of a draped female figure.

[From Latin Caryātides, caryatids, from Greek Karuātides, priestesses of Artemis at Caryae, caryatids, from Karuai, Caryae, a village of Laconia in southern Greece with a famous temple to Artemis.]

car′y·ati·dal (-ĭ-dəl), car′y·at′i·dean (-ĭ-dēən), car′y·a·tidic (-ə-tĭdĭk) adj.

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caryatid

Porch of the Caryatids at the Erechtheum at the Acropolis

Athens, Greece

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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