herm
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(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.
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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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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A rectangular post, usually of stone and tapering downward, surmounted by a bust of Hermes or other divinity, or by a human head.
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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.
(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.
| Hergest, Hereford, Herbrandston | |
| Hermiston, Herne Bay Herne, Hernhill |
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