Etymology From Middle English adornen, adournen, from Latin adōrnāre; from ad- + ōrnō (“furnish, embellish”). See adore, ornate. Replaced earlier Middle English aournen (“to adorn”) borrowed from Old French aorner, from the same Latin source.
1
To make more beautiful and attractive; to decorate.
a man adorned with noble statuary and columns
a character adorned with every Christian grace
4 more examples
A gallery of paintings was adorned with the works of some of the great masters.
as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Isaiah 61:10:
At church, with meek and unaffected grace, / His looks adorned the venerable place; / Truth from his lips prevailed with double ſway, / And fools, who came to ſcoff, remained to pray.1770, [Oliver] Goldsmith, The Deserted Village, a Poem, London: […] W[illiam] Griffin, […], →OCLC, page 10:
Durable, water-resistant and easy to clean, tiles have adorned Persian mosques, Moorish palaces and the parlors of Dutch burgers.1980, Robert M. Jones, editor, Walls and Ceilings, Time-Life Books, →ISBN, page 38:
Etymology From Middle English adornen, adournen, from Latin adōrnāre; from ad- + ōrnō (“furnish, embellish”). See adore, ornate. Replaced earlier Middle English aournen (“to adorn”) borrowed from Old French aorner, from the same Latin source.
Her brest all naked, as nett yvory Without adorne of gold or silver bright1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto XII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
adorn
adj
Etymology From Middle English adornen, adournen, from Latin adōrnāre; from ad- + ōrnō (“furnish, embellish”). See adore, ornate. Replaced earlier Middle English aournen (“to adorn”) borrowed from Old French aorner, from the same Latin source.
And to realities yield all her shows: Made so adorn for thy delight the more1667, John Milton, “(please specify the page number)”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC: