picturesque
/ˌpɪkt͡ʃəˈɹɛsk/
picturesque means resembling or worthy of a picture or painting; having the qualities of a picture or painting; pleasingly beautiful.
picturesque is pronounced /ˌpɪkt͡ʃəˈɹɛsk/.
Why “picturesque” is a great word
Visually attractive in a quaint or charming manner, as if composed for a painting. From English picture ("a painting, representation") + the suffix -esque ("in the style of"), a calque of French pittoresque, itself from Italian pittoresco, from pittore ("painter") + -esco ("-ish, -esque"). First recorded in English use around 1703. Unlike "scenic," which speaks of inherent landscape grandeur, or "quaint," which dwells on old-fashioned peculiarity, "picturesque" insists on a frame, an artist's eye, a pleasing arrangement worthy of capture. It is the sun-dappled disorder of a cottage garden, the weathered timber of a fishing boat drawn up on a shingle beach, the serpentine lane disappearing around a mossy stone wall—the world not as it simply is, but as it consents to be seen.
Etymology
From picture + -esque, a calque of French pittoresque, from picture (“a picture, painting”).
adj
- Resembling or worthy of a picture or painting; having the qualities of a picture or painting; pleasingly beautiful.e.g.“We looked down onto a beautiful, picturesque sunset over the ocean.”
- Strikingly graphic or vivid; having striking and vivid imagery.e.g.“picturesque language”