poppyhead

[ pop-ee-hed ]

noun

, Architecture.

1. a finial or other ornament, often richly carved, as the top of the upright end of a bench or pew.

poppyhead

/ ˈpɒpɪˌhɛd /

noun

1. the hard dry seed-containing capsule of a poppy See also capsule
2. a carved ornament, esp one used on the top of the end of a pew or bench in Gothic church architecture

Word History and Origins

Origin of poppyhead¹

First recorded in 1575–85; poppy + head

Example Sentences

They wore clothes of fine flax linen, with pleats and tasseled hems; bartered for glass and amber beads imported from places as far-flung as present-day Iran; drank from delicate clay poppyhead cups; dined on leg of boar and honey-glazed venison, and fed table scraps to their dogs.

From New York Times

Compare, for example, the innumerable small round seedlets of the poppyhead with the solitary large and richly stored seed of the walnut, or the tiny black specks of mustard and cress with the single compact and well-filled seed of the filbert and the acorn.

From Project Gutenberg