echinus

Plural: echini, echinuses

Noun

• The body of an echinoid; a sea urchin.
• ovolo molding between the shaft and the abacus of a Doric column
• A sea urchin.
• The rounded moulding forming the bell of the capital of the Grecian Doric style, which is of a peculiar elastic curve.
• The quarter-round moulding (ovolo) of the Roman Doric style.
• The egg-and-anchor or egg-and-dart moulding, because often identified with the Roman Doric capital.

Examples

• Finding the obscure word ECHINUS was a true test of his zoological vocabulary.