Illustration of caryatid
caryatid
noun
cary·at·id
ˌker-ē-ˈa-təd 
ˌka-rē-;
ˈker-ē-ə-ˌtid
ˈka-rē-
plural caryatids or caryatides
ˌker-ē-ˈa-tə-ˌdēz
ˌka-rē-
: a draped female figure supporting an entablature
Examples of caryatid in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Best of all are the caryatids of the St. Pancras New Church, four toga-wearing terra-cotta ladies who bear part of the roof, austerely holding the gaze of passengers on the top level of the No. 30 bus.
—
Francesca Carington, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2025
In a quiet section of Paris, in the 13th Arrondissement, a large building with recessed columns, Romanesque windows, and caryatids preserves an ancient art.
—Peter Saenger, airmail.news, 28 Dec. 2024
The Greek key patterns inscribed on the floors of tenement bathrooms are repurposed as part of an architectural frieze, and Woodman’s friends—Rankin among them—are transformed into towering caryatids.
—Chris Wiley, The New Yorker, 16 Apr. 2024
Sometimes a caryatid has been compared to the unseen slave who carried society’s burdens.
—Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 15 Nov. 2023
Its tiered, warm bronze facade, whose color shifts with the sun, riffs on Yoruba caryatids and ironwork designs by a former South Carolina slave, playing off a phalanx of white marble mausoleums lining the National Mall.
—Michael Kimmelman, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2023
This living room, with its heavy red curtains and giant caryatids framing the chimney, was one of several that was ultimately scrapped.
—Jason Farago, New York Times, 6 Feb. 2020
The caryatid, which first came about in ancient Greece, is a carving of a standing woman used as a column to support an architectural structure.
—Domenica Bongiovanni, Indianapolis Star, 10 Dec. 2019
Her inaugural works for the Met’s façade—a set of four female bronze caryatids, larger than life and stylized in the tradition of high-ranking African women—challenge the institution’s own history of Eurocentrism and patriarchy.
—Time Staff, Time, 20 Dec. 2019
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Francesca Carington, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2025
In a quiet section of Paris, in the 13th Arrondissement, a large building with recessed columns, Romanesque windows, and caryatids preserves an ancient art.
—Peter Saenger, airmail.news, 28 Dec. 2024
The Greek key patterns inscribed on the floors of tenement bathrooms are repurposed as part of an architectural frieze, and Woodman’s friends—Rankin among them—are transformed into towering caryatids.
—Chris Wiley, The New Yorker, 16 Apr. 2024
Sometimes a caryatid has been compared to the unseen slave who carried society’s burdens.
—Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 15 Nov. 2023
Its tiered, warm bronze facade, whose color shifts with the sun, riffs on Yoruba caryatids and ironwork designs by a former South Carolina slave, playing off a phalanx of white marble mausoleums lining the National Mall.
—Michael Kimmelman, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2023
This living room, with its heavy red curtains and giant caryatids framing the chimney, was one of several that was ultimately scrapped.
—Jason Farago, New York Times, 6 Feb. 2020
The caryatid, which first came about in ancient Greece, is a carving of a standing woman used as a column to support an architectural structure.
—Domenica Bongiovanni, Indianapolis Star, 10 Dec. 2019
Her inaugural works for the Met’s façade—a set of four female bronze caryatids, larger than life and stylized in the tradition of high-ranking African women—challenge the institution’s own history of Eurocentrism and patriarchy.
—Time Staff, Time, 20 Dec. 2019
Cite this Entry
“Caryatid.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/caryatid. Accessed 14 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
caryatid
noun
cary·at·id
ˌkar-ē-ˈat-əd
plural caryatids or caryatides
-ˈat-ə-ˌdēz
: a sculptured figure of a woman in flowing robes used as a column in architecture
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