kore

IPA/ˈkɔː.reɪ/
IPA/ˈkɔː.reɪ/

kore — noun

  • koresingular
  • koresplural

1. a standing female figure carved in stone during ancient Greece's Archaic period,

1.nounC2
Definition

a standing female figure carved in stone during ancient Greece's Archaic period, wearing a long pleated robe that reaches the feet

Example

The museum's new gallery displays a marble kore from the sixth century BC.

collocation: marble kore

Visitors admired the faint traces of paint still visible on the ancient kore's dress.

Common collocations
  • marble kore
  • Archaic kore
  • painted kore
  • draped kore
Synonyms
  • statue

    general term for any carved or cast figure; kore refers specifically to a type of ancient Greek maiden statue

  • maiden figure

    descriptive phrase used in art history writing, less technical than kore

Antonyms
  • kouros

    the male counterpart of a kore in ancient Greek sculpture

Usage Note

The plural form is korai (Κόραι). Kore statues were originally painted in bright colours, but the paint has usually worn off over time. The male counterpart is called a kouros.

Common Mistakes

The museum has a Roman kore.
The museum has a Greek kore.
Kore statues are specifically from ancient Greece, not Rome.

Word family

  • korai
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Kore is a specialised art-history term for a specific type of ancient Greek statue, not a general word. A statue is any three-dimensional carved or cast human or animal figure — kore is a subtype limited to Archaic Greek maiden figures. Its male counterpart, kouros (plural kouroi), shares the same standing pose but is always nude, while a kore is fully clothed. Maiden figure is a descriptive phrase art historians use when avoiding the Greek term. Sculpture is the broadest category, covering any carved or modeled artwork in any material. For example: 'The marble kore in room 12 dates to 520 BC' is precise; calling it simply 'a statue' loses the cultural and chronological specificity.

statue ↗kourosmaiden figuresculpture ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • kore statue
  • kore figure

Phrases

  • Archaic kore
  • marble kore
  • draped kore

Prepositions

  • kore from
  • kore of

Etymology

Ancient GreekEnglish

Borrowed directly from ancient Greek κόρη (korē), meaning 'girl, maiden, young woman'. The term entered English through archaeology and art-historical writing in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as scholars excavated Archaic Greek sites and needed a precise word for this statue type.

First known use

1920

1920, in the meaning defined above