Skip to content
ARCHIEENGLISH
LearnPlayWordsRanking
  • Learn
  • Play
  • Words
  • Ranking
  • Mine
← Vocabulary

arabesque

UK/ˌæɹ.əˈbɛsk/US/ˌæɹ.əˈbɛsk/
nounC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #13,836 of 15,258leans written

Other forms: arabesques

An arabesque is a pose with one leg extended straight behind. Hold the arabesque, a perfect arabesque, into an arabesque.

It is one of the defining shapes of ballet and is judged on the line from fingertip to toe rather than on height. The word first named the flowing ornament of Islamic art, which is where the sense of a curving line comes from.

Jan Smith from Brisbane, Australia · CC BY 2.0

Definitions of arabesque

  1. 1nounarabesqueA pose with one leg extended straight behind.C1

    “The ballerina balanced on one toe in a perfect arabesque.”

arabesque is a pose.

Where it comes from

Italian arabesco means in the Arab style, first naming the flowing ornament of Islamic art.

  1. Italian

    arabesco

  2. French

    arabesque

  3. English, today

    arabesque

Built from

  • arabo · Italian — Arab

French arabesque, from Italian arabesco, from arabo (“Arab”). by surface analysis, Arab + -esque.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Dance

Practise this word

arabesque in the wild

  • Some Western arabesques derive from Islamic art, however others are closely based on ancient Roman decorations.

    Arabesque

  • The case for a connection with Islamic mathematics is much stronger for the development of the geometric patterns with which arabesques are often combined in art.

    Arabesque

  • An arabesque is a type of music which uses melodies to create the atmosphere of Arabic architecture.

    Arabesque (classical music)

  • The term and themes are borrowed from the art term arabesque, rather than stemming from Arabic music.

    Arabesque (classical music)

  • In classical ballet, an arabesque can be executed with the supporting leg en pointe or demi pointe or with foot flat on the floor.

    Arabesque (ballet position)

1 / 2

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.