herm

(hûrm)

also her·ma (hûr'mə)
n., pl., herms, also -mae (-mī).
A rectangular, often tapering stone post bearing a carved head or bust, usually of Hermes, used as a boundary marker in ancient Greece and for decorative purposes in later periods.

[Latin hermēs, herma, from Greek hermēs, from Hermēs, Hermes.]

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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia:

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In Greek religion, a sacred stone object connected with the worship of Hermes. Herms were used as cult objects, for milestones, and for boundary markers. In time, these stones were replaced by pillars topped with a likeness of the head of Hermes or by statues of the god. In Roman sculpture the heads of Jupiter or the forest god Silvanus were often substituted.

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McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture & Construction:

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A rectangular post, usually of stone and tapering downward, surmounted by a bust of Hermes or other divinity, or by a human head.

herm

Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology:

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[Co]

A square-section pillar, tapering out from ground level, typically about 2m high, and surmounted by the sculptured head of a deity. They are found widely in the Greek world, for example in the agora, and were also popular in the gardens of private houses in Roman times.

Columbia Encyclopedia:

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herm (hûrm), in 6th-century Greek art, vertical pillar surmounted by a bearded human head and often having a phallus below. These structures were considered sacred to Hermes. They were placed on street corners in Athens and used outside the city as milestones. By the end of the Hellenistic era the form was employed for portraiture.

Oxford Dictionary of British Place Names:

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(island) Channel Islands. Erm (1087), Erme (1361). A Brittonic development of its ancient Roman name Sarmia (recorded thus in the 4th-cent. Maritime Itinerary), of unknown origin and meaning.

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Rhymes:

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See words rhyming with "herm."

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Copyrights:

		American Heritage Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more
		Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 1994-2012 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
		McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture & Construction. McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
		Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology. Copyright © 2002, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. Read more
		Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/. Read more
		Oxford Dictionary of British Place Names. © 2003 A.D. Mills Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. Read more
		Rhymes. Oxford University Press. © 2006, 2007 All rights reserved. Read more

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