contorniate

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/kənˈtɔː(ɹ).ni.ət/

noun

A bronze medal or medallion with a deep furrow on the contour or edge, supposed to have been struck in the days of Constantine and his successors.

OriginItalian contorniato →
Scrabble 13
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Meanings

nouncontorniate (plural contorniates)

plural contorniates

  1. A bronze medal or medallion with a deep furrow on the contour or edge, supposed to have been struck in the days of Constantine and his successors.

    Mr. Evans exhibited a fine contorniate, bearing the head of Nero

    1864, Reginald Stuart Poole, “The Coins of the Ptolemies”, in The numismatic chronicle, volume IV
adjectivecontorniate (not comparable)
  1. not comparableHaving a furrow of this kind.

    […] by its close analogy with a more elaborate composition on a contorniate medal of the same Emperor, which was certainly commemorative of that event.

    1888, Archaeologia Cambrensis, page 141

Origin

  1. Italiancontorniato
  2. Englishcontorniate

From Italian contorniato, present participle of contorniare (“to make a circuit or outline”).

More words from Italian

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

contorniate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/contorniate

MLA

“contorniate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/contorniate. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “contorniate,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/contorniate.

Source: contorniate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.