Acanthus

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Acanthus (plural: acanthus, rarely acanthuses in English, or acanthi in Latin), in its feminine form acantha (plura: acanthae), is the Latinised form of the ancient Greek word acanthos or akanthos, referring to the Acanthus plant. It can also be used as the prefix acantho-, meaning "thorny". It may refer to:

Architecture

• Acanthus (ornament), form in architecture and in leather carving derived from the plant

Places

Canada

• Acanthus, Ontario, a modern Canadian town

Egypt

• Acanthus (Egypt), an ancient Egyptian city

Greece

• Akanthos (Greece), an ancient Greek city

Ireland

• Acantha, County Offaly, a townland in the civil parish of Durrow, barony of Ballycowan

Mythology

• Acantha, figure in Greek mythology associated with the plant
• Acanthus, one of the sons of Autonous who received his name after the plant, which was common in his infertile homeland

People

• Acanthus of Sparta, an ancient athlete
• Acanthus, the pen-name of the cartoonist Frank Hoar

Other

• Acanthus, in entomology a thorn-like projection, typically a single-celled cuticular growth without tormogen (socket) or sensory cells
• Acanthus path, a fictional tradition of enchanters, magicians and witches in the game Mage: The Awakening