Library / English Dictionary

    STATUE

    Pronunciation (US): Play  (GB): Play

     I. (noun) 

    Sense 1

    Meaning:

    A sculpture representing a human or animalplay

    Classified under:

    Nouns denoting man-made objects

    Hypernyms ("statue" is a kind of...):

    sculpture (a three-dimensional work of plastic art)

    Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "statue"):

    herm (a statue consisting of a squared stone pillar with a carved head (usually a bearded Hermes) on top; used in ancient Greece as a boundary marker or signpost)

    nude; nude sculpture; nude statue (a statue of a naked human figure)

    Olympian Zeus (a seated statue of the supreme god of ancient Greek mythology created for the temple at Olympia; the statue was 40 feet tall and rested on a base that was 12 feet high)

    sphinx (one of a number of large stone statues with the body of a lion and the head of a man that were built by the ancient Egyptians)

    term; terminal figure; terminus ((architecture) a statue or a human bust or an animal carved out of the top of a square pillar; originally used as a boundary marker in ancient Rome)

    Instance hyponyms:

    Colossus of Rhodes (a huge bronze statue of the sun god Helios that was built around 285 BC and that stood beside the harbor entrance on the island of Rhodes for about 50 years before it was toppled by an earthquake)

    Statue of Liberty (a large monumental statue symbolizing liberty on Liberty Island in New York Bay)

    Derivation:

    statuary (of or relating to or suitable for statues)

    statuette (a small carved or molded figure)

    Credits

     Context examples: 

    Beth kept her face hidden on her mother's shoulder, but Amy stood like a graceful statue, with a most becoming ray of sunshine touching her white forehead and the flower in her hair.

    (Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

    Into the clearing where the moonlight streamed, they poured in a silvery flood; and in the centre of the clearing stood Buck, motionless as a statue, waiting their coming.

    (The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

    In the tomb, there were mummies, jewelry and statues.

    (Discovery of Two Tombs Dating Back 3,500 Years Announced in Egypt, VOA)

    I measured a little finger which had fallen down from one of these statues, and lay unperceived among some rubbish, and found it exactly four feet and an inch in length.

    (Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

    Antiquities Minister Khaled el-Anany said the tomb is not in good condition, but it contains a statue of the goldsmith and his wife as well as a funerary mask.

    (Egypt Announces Discovery of 3,500-Year-Old Luxor Tomb, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

    I had been saved by being prompt; the dirk had struck not half a foot below me as I pursued my upward flight; and there stood Israel Hands with his mouth open and his face upturned to mine, a perfect statue of surprise and disappointment.

    (Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

    In 2004, Japanese researchers originally discovered that the Shisa gene played a role in the formation of frog heads and, named the gene after a mythological, large-headed, guardian figure depicted in statues throughout southern Japan.

    (‘Sticky’ gene may help Valium calm nerves, National Institutes of Health)

    Had he been a statue instead of a man, he could not have been easier.

    (Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

    So, although, as you say, there are many hundreds of statues in London, it is very probable that these three were the only ones in that district.

    (The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

    A new study employed quantitative spatial analysis to establish that the platforms, or ahu, built to support the Easter Island statues, or moai, are usually located near sources of drinkable water.

    (Scientists report correlation between locations of Easter Island statues and water resources, Wikinews)


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