Echinus

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A sea urchin.

    "'It is a sea-urchin - a common echinus. Nature repeats itself in many forms regardless of the size. This echinus is a model, a prototype, of the world.'"

  2. 2
    ovolo molding between the shaft and the abacus of a Doric column wordnet
  3. 3
    The rounded moulding forming the bell of the capital of the Grecian Doric style, which is of a peculiar elastic curve.
  4. 4
    The quarter-round moulding (ovolo) of the Roman Doric style.
  5. 5
    The egg-and-anchor or egg-and-dart moulding, because often identified with the Roman Doric capital.

Synonyms

All synonyms
ovoloovolo

Example

More examples

"'It is a sea-urchin - a common echinus. Nature repeats itself in many forms regardless of the size. This echinus is a model, a prototype, of the world.'"

Etymology

From Latin echīnus (“hedgehog; sea urchin”), from Ancient Greek ἐχῖνος (ekhînos).

Related phrases

sea urchin

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.