caryatid
noun
[ ˌkarɪˈatɪd ]
• a stone carving of a draped female figure, used as a pillar to support the entablature of a Greek or Greek-style building.
Origin:
mid 16th century: via French and Italian from Latin caryatides, from Greek karuatides, plural of karuatis ‘priestess of Artemis at Caryae’, from Karuai (Caryae) in Laconia.
