Webster's English Dictionary

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acanthus

acan.thus \*-'kan(t)-th*s\ \-'kan-.thi-\ n or acan.thus.es also acan.thi 
   [NL, genus name, fr. Gk akanthos bear's-foot, fr. akantha] pl  1: any of a 
   genus (Acanthus of the family Acanthaceae, the acanthus f amily) of prickly 
   herbs of the Mediterranean region 2: an ornamentation (as in a Corinthian 
   capital) representing or suggesting  the leaves of the acanthus