festoon
/feˈstuːn/ (bre, ipa) · /feˈstuːn/ (ame, ipa) · /fe-ˈstün/ (ame, mw) · /fesˈtuːn/ (bre, ipa) · /fesˈtuːn/ (ame, ipa)
festoon — verb
- festoonpresent simple I / you / we / they
- festoonshe / she / it
- festoonedpast simple
- festooning-ing form
1. to drape something with rows of paper, flowers, lights, or fabric that hang in l
to drape something with rows of paper, flowers, lights, or fabric that hang in loose curves, usually to make a place look festive for a celebration.
Lucía and her cousins festooned the porch with paper roses for the village fiesta.
festoon + [place] + with + [decorative items] for a celebration
The whole street was festooned with red lanterns for the start of Lunar New Year.
passive: be festooned with [decorations]
Workers festooned the stage with strings of fairy lights before the wedding band arrived.
Kenji festooned the garden trellis with paper cranes the night before his sister's birthday party.
By the time the guests arrived, every doorway had been festooned with garlands of orange marigolds.
文法句型
festoon + something + with + something
be festooned with + something
用法筆記
Frequently passive ('was festooned with…'), and the hanging items are almost always plural and decorative — strings of lights, garlands, ribbons. Distinguish from 'decorate', which covers any kind of adornment; 'festoon' specifically implies things hung in loose curves or chains.
常見錯誤
festoon — noun
- festoonsingular
- festoonsplural
1. a length of flowers, leaves, paper, or lights joined together and hung in a loos
a length of flowers, leaves, paper, or lights joined together and hung in a loose curve between two fixed points, used as a decoration.
A long festoon of marigolds hung above the temple entrance for the wedding.
a festoon of [flowers/leaves/lights] hung above [place]
Wren strung paper festoons across the classroom ceiling for the end-of-term party.
plural: paper festoons strung across [space]
Festoons of small white lights swayed between the trees along the harbour.
Old Mr. Emre took down the dusty festoons of crepe paper that had hung in the café since New Year.
文法句型
a festoon of + [decorative items]
用法筆記
Almost always followed by 'of' plus a plural decorative noun (festoon of flowers / lights / paper). The shape is the defining feature — a curve between two anchor points — not the material.
常見錯誤
2. in art and architecture, a carved, moulded, or painted decoration shaped like a
in art and architecture, a carved, moulded, or painted decoration shaped like a hanging chain of flowers, leaves, or fruit, often used on stone walls, furniture, or pottery.
Carved stone festoons of fruit and leaves ran along the upper walls of the old courthouse.
carved festoons of [fruit/leaves] in classical architecture
The Greek vase was painted with delicate festoons of grapes around its rim.
painted festoons on pottery
Vivek pointed out the plaster festoons above the fireplace, explaining how Georgian craftsmen had moulded each leaf by hand.
Two carved festoons frame the marble doorway of the eighteenth-century mansion.
文法句型
a festoon of + [carved/painted items]
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: a real hanging garland (sense 1) is made of physical flowers or lights and can be taken down; an architectural festoon (sense 2) is carved, moulded, or painted as a permanent fixed decoration imitating that shape. Common in descriptions of classical, Renaissance, or Georgian buildings, furniture, and ceramics.