Ironworks Gaming Forum - Etymology of the word "baroque"

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As for the term "Baroque ", Montaigne was using the word in the sense of "bizarre" as early as the sixteenth century. But apart from any consideration regarding the etymology of the word "baroque" which some maintain is derived from "barocco" (a syllogistic term) others maintain that it has its derivation from "barroco" (a Portuguese word indicating an irregular shaped pearl) yet still others maintain its derivation from the generally accepted Italian meaning of the word " bizzarro" which was already used in France in 1533 and in Spain in 1569, the word took on a meeting at a certain point in time relating to the figurative arts and architecture of a style characterised by a great vivacity, power and expressive virtuosity. It is therefore quite logical that this style which encapsulates the essential themes of contestation and revolt which can even be violent in its exuberant energy (hence the sense of the Italian "bizzarre" = litigious/quarrelsome) should have been born in Rome as a reaction to the anti-roman nature of the Reformation.

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