Mona Lisa

See also: Mona-Lisa

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian Monna Lisa (literally “my lady Lisa”), named after Lisa del Giocondo, whom it portrays.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˌməʊnə ˈliːzə/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˌmoʊnə ˈlisə/, /ˌmoʊnə ˈlaɪzə/
  • Rhymes: -iːzə, -iːsə, -aɪzə

Proper noun

the Mona Lisa

  1. A painting by Leonardo da Vinci, widely considered as the most famous painting in history.
    • 1985, Bob Dotson, ...In pursuit of the American dream‎, page 4:
      […] found Florence Thompson, the Mona Lisa of the 1930s, a migrant mother whose picture haunted the nation.
    • 2005, Zvi Rappoport; Joel F. Liebman, The Chemistry of Cyclobutanes‎, page 18:
      This small and deceptively simple, but extremely interesting molecular system was rightly characterized by Cram and coworkers as ‘The Mona Lisa of Organic Chemistry’, because of its ability to elicit wonder, to stimulate imagination and, last but not least, by its enigmatic elusiveness and numerous outstanding features.
    • 2005, Ariel Lewin, The Archaeology of Ancient Judea and Palestine‎, page 84:
      The panels depicting scenes from the life of Dionysos are framed with acanthus leaves, some of which form medallions, including one showing a fascinating woman who has come to be known as the Mona Lisa of Galilee.

Translations

Further reading

Anagrams

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.