cartouche

or car·touch

[ kahr-toosh ]
See synonyms for cartouche on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. Architecture. a rounded, convex surface, usually surrounded with carved ornamental scrollwork, for receiving a painted or low-relief decoration, as an escutcheon.

  2. an oval or oblong figure, as on ancient Egyptian monuments, enclosing characters that represent the name of a sovereign.

  1. the case containing the inflammable materials in certain fireworks.

  2. a box for cartridges.

Origin of cartouche

1
1605–15; <Middle French <Italian cartoccio, equivalent to cart(a) paper (see carte) + -occio augmentative suffix

Words Nearby cartouche

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use cartouche in a sentence

  • Among later victims was the famous cartouche, of whom Thackeray wrote so entertainingly.

    A Wanderer in Paris | E. V. Lucas
  • So when the keeper made young Dumas a present of Pyramus, he thought he had better bestow cartouche on him as well.

  • It was lying with his cartouche-box right away by the stunted oak, as he mentally called the cork-tree.

    !Tention | George Manville Fenn
  • Then, as he saw Punch busily taking possession of musket and cartouche-belt, he followed his example.

    !Tention | George Manville Fenn
  • The only new hieroglyph is the pylon, rendered An in the cartouche.

    Cleopatra's Needle | James King

British Dictionary definitions for cartouche

cartouche

cartouch

/ (kɑːˈtuːʃ) /


noun
  1. a carved or cast ornamental tablet or panel in the form of a scroll, sometimes having an inscription

  2. an oblong figure enclosing characters expressing royal or divine names in Egyptian hieroglyphics

  1. the paper case holding combustible materials in certain fireworks

  2. rare a cartridge or a box for cartridges

Origin of cartouche

1
C17: from French: scroll, cartridge, from Italian cartoccio, from carta paper; see card 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012