caryatid

the 'sala delle cariatidi' in milan is a very atmospheric, redolent XVIII century hall of mirrors in the royal palace, you can see some photos of it here (taken by elisheba:-)): http://tinyurl.com/5nh58n

in italian, a cariatide caryatid is also a pejorative noun for an old, backward-looking person (e.g. una vecchia cariatide del regime - a diehard caryatid of the regime), or a mature/old woman.

the male counterpart of a caryatid is called telamon, and coincides with the mythological figure of the titan, Atlas

NOUN: Inflected forms: pl. car·y·at·ids or car·y·at·i·des (--dz)
Architecture A supporting column sculptured in the form of a draped female figure.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin Carytides, caryatids, from Greek Karutides, priestesses of Artemis at Caryae, caryatids, from Karuai, Caryae, a village of Laconia in southern Greece with a famous temple to Artemis.
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I learned it from Stranger in a Strange Land.

Ahh, good times.

*goes to add grok to her words*

learned this from D&D: the monster called a caryatid column