Word of the Day #23 Quincunx KWING-kuhngks, KWIN- noun Definition: an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. *Botany. an overlapping arrangement of five petals or leaves, in which two are interior, two are exterior, and one is partly interior and partly exterior. Quotes: It must have been done with extraordinary taste and care, for there is not a bit of it which is not rarely beautiful. Sir Thomas Browne himself, for all his Quincunx , would have been delighted with it, and have found material for another “Garden of Cyrus." -- Bram Stoker , The Lady of the Shroud , 1909 Light bathed the other inner flank and spilled out onto the bridge and along the wall that carried the leftway up to the gatehouse. Its face was studded with the cypher of the five-spot quincunx. -- Ricardo Pinto , The Chosen , 1999 Etymology: Quincunx comes from Latin in the 1640s, originally astrological, of planetary alignments, from Latin, literally "five twelfths" (especially "five unciae," that is, "five-twelfths of an as," the basic unit of Roman currency), from quinque "five" (see quinque-) + uncia "ounce; a twelfth part (of anything)," related to unus "one" (see one). Applied, especially in garden design, to arrangements like the five pips on a playing card (1660s). Related: Quincuncial.
Posted on: Fri, 23 Aug 2013 01:23:12 +0000
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