mural

¹mu·ral

adjective \ˈmyu̇r-əl\

Definition of MURAL

1

: of, relating to, or resembling a wall

2

: applied to and made integral with a wall or ceiling surface

Origin of MURAL

Latin muralis, from murus wall — more at munition

First Known Use: 1586

Other Architecture Terms

buttress, casita, cornice, fanlight, garret, lintel, parapet, pilaster, plinth

Rhymes with MURAL

crural, jural, neural, pleural, plural, rural, Ural

²mural

noun

Definition of MURAL

: a mural work of art (as a painting)

— mu·ral·ist \-ə-list\ noun

First Known Use of MURAL

1916

Other Fine Arts Terms

Gothic, baroque, bas-relief, limn, oeuvre, pastiche, rococo, sfumato

mu·ral

adjective \ˈmyu̇r-əl\   (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of MURAL

: attached to and limited to a wall or a cavity <a mural thrombus> <mural abscesses>

mural

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Painting applied to and made integral with the surface of a wall or ceiling. Its roots can be found in the universal desire that led prehistoric peoples to create cave paintings—the desire to decorate their surroundings and express their ideas and beliefs. The Romans produced large numbers of murals in Pompeii and Ostia, but mural painting (not synonymous with fresco) reached its highest degree of creative achievement in Europe with the work of such Renaissance masters as Masaccio, Fra Angelico, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael. In the 20th century, the mural was embraced by artists of the Cubist and Fauve movements in Paris, revolutionary painters in Mexico (e.g., Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, David Alfaro Siqueiros), and Depression-era artists under the sponsorship of the U.S. government (e.g., Ben Shahn, Thomas Hart Benton).