Rocaille is a French loanword used in design and art criticism to describe an ornate, rococo-inspired ornament or pattern. In English discourse it denotes a Rococo-inspired decorative motif, often involving curves, shells, and florals, borrowed from French. It tends to appear in specialized contexts such as interior design, sculpture critiques, and fashion histories, and is typically treated as a refined, stylistic term rather than everyday vocabulary.
Full pronunciation guide
