rococo

[ruh-koh-koh, roh-kuh-koh] /rəˈkoʊ koʊ, ˌroʊ kəˈkoʊ/
noun
1.
a style of architecture and decoration, originating in France about 1720, evolved from Baroque types and distinguished by its elegant refinement in using different materials for a delicate overall effect and by its ornament of shellwork, foliage, etc.
2.
a homophonic musical style of the middle 18th century, marked by a generally superficial elegance and charm and by the use of elaborate ornamentation and stereotyped devices.
adjective
3.
(initial capital letter) Fine Arts.
  1. noting or pertaining to a style of painting developed simultaneously with the rococo in architecture and decoration, characterized chiefly by smallness of scale, delicacy of color, freedom of brushwork, and the selection of playful subjects as thematic material.
  2. designating a corresponding style of sculpture, chiefly characterized by diminutiveness of Baroque forms and playfulness of theme.
4.
of, pertaining to, in the manner of, or suggested by rococo architecture, decoration, or music or the general atmosphere and spirit of the rococo:
rococo charm.
5.
ornate or florid in speech, literary style, etc.
Origin
1830-40; < French, akin to rocaille rocaille
Examples from the web for rococo
  • But none of these villages approaches, in sheer rococo verve, the thatch-roofed splendor of tiki.
  • Some of the salons open onto a patio garden with a flamboyant rococo fountain flanked by a pair of aviaries.
  • rococo style mahogany styled wing-back chair with brown leather upholstery and tufted back with riveted edges.
British Dictionary definitions for rococo

rococo

/rəˈkəʊkəʊ/
noun (often capital)
1.
a style of architecture and decoration that originated in France in the early 18th century, characterized by elaborate but graceful, light, ornamentation, often containing asymmetrical motifs
2.
an 18th-century style of music characterized by petite prettiness, a decline in the use of counterpoint, and extreme use of ornamentation
3.
any florid or excessively ornamental style
adjective
4.
denoting, being in, or relating to the rococo
5.
florid or excessively elaborate
Word Origin
C19: from French, from rocaille, from rocrock1
Word Origin and History for rococo
adj.

1836, "old-fashioned," from French rococo (19c.), apparently a humorous alteration of rocaille "shellwork, pebble-work" from Middle French roche "rock," from Vulgar Latin *rocca "stone." Specifically of furniture or architecture of the time of Louis Quatorze and Louis Quinze, from 1841. If this is correct, the reference is to the excessive use of shell designs in this lavish style. For differentiation, see baroque. The general sense of "tastelessly florid or ornate" is from 1844.

Much of the painting, engraving, porcelain-work, etc., of the time has ... a real decorative charm, though not of a very high order in art. Hence rococo is used attributively in contempt to note anything feebly pretentious and tasteless in art or literature. [Century Dictionary, 1902]

rococo in Culture
rococo [(ruh-koh-koh, roh-kuh-koh)]

A style of baroque art and architecture popular in Europe during the eighteenth century, characterized by flowing lines and elaborate decoration.

rococo in Technology

jargon, abuse
Baroque in the extreme. Used to imply that a program has become so encrusted with the software equivalent of gold leaf and curlicues that they have completely swamped the underlying design. Called after the later and more extreme forms of Baroque architecture and decoration prevalent during the mid-1700s in Europe. Alan Perlis said: "Every program eventually becomes rococo, and then rubble."
Compare critical mass.
[Jargon File]
(1996-04-06)