art nouveau: Meaning and Definition of

art nou•veau

Pronunciation: (ärt" n-vō', är" Fr. ar-n-vō'), [key]
— Fine Arts. (often caps.)Fine Arts.
  1. a style of fine and applied art current in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, characterized chiefly by curvilinear motifs often derived from natural forms.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.