Picking the right antique reproduction furniture for your home is challenging. Faced with confusing terms like "mortise and tenon joinery" and "cartouches," it's easy to become lost entirely within minutes.

To help eliminate some of the confusion associated with the furniture buying process, we've created this glossary of the most popular and used terms. Familiarize yourself with these terms, and you'll quickly find yourself marching down the path to furniture enlightenment.

1. Adam Leg. Named after Robert Adam, an 18th-Century furniture designer. The Adam leg style features the same width along the length of the leg, with the portion ending in a slightly rounded foot.

2. Acanthus/Acanthus leaves. An ornament hand carved into furniture that is a stylized version of a Mediterranean plant with jagged leaves known as Acanthus spinosus.

3. Ajouré. Meaning pierced, used to describe the surface of an ornament of an element. Literally, "to let the light pass through." Ajouré, in regards to antique furniture, usually denotes highly decorative carving. You can find examples of ajouré in Laurel Crown's desks, Cheveret desks, Whatnot shelves, Antique Half Moon Table, and Rococo Console Table with Grape Details. Ajouré is feminine.

4. Ajourée. Masculine of ajouré. Pierced. Ajourée is used to describe the surface of an ornament or element. Literally "to let the light pass through."

5. Arbalette. A serpentine form, characteristic of Louis XV commodes, buffets and consoles.

6. Armoire. A clothing cupboard.

7. Art Nouveau. A period or style of decoration first appeared in England in the 1880s and spread throughout Europe, specifically Belgium, France, and Germany, in the early 1890s. It survived and remained popular for 20 years, reflecting a return to nature and the values of good artistry.

8. Baroque. An elaborate, highly ornamental style was popular in Europe between 1600 and 1750. In Antique furniture, the Baroque style showcased flamboyant, intricate carvings, paintings, and gilding. Typical motifs were acanthus, shells, and detailed scrolls.

9. Bergere. A large, comfortable armchair with upholstered sides and a loose cushion seat. Popular in France during the Louis XV period and later. During the 18th century in England, these chairs were also known as "burjairs" or "barjairs."

10. Biedermeier. A style of furniture and decoration that pertains to a particular mood and set of trends as the middle class grew in number and the arts appealed to common sensibilities. Between 1815 and 1848, the style swept through Austria, Germany, Sweden, and Russia, featuring clean, simple lines and detailed veneer work with minimal ornamentation.

11. Astragal. An astragal is a decorative moulding profile comprised of a half-round surface surrounded by two flat panels called fillets. It can mean an element found at the top or base of a column, but in antique furniture, it is the term used as a framing device and woodwork. Astragals are most often seen on glass cabinetry.

12. Ball and Claw. Found in Chippendale furniture, usually paired with a cabriole leg. The cabriole leg ends in a ball-and-claw foot, with the claw portraying some clawed animal clasping a ball.

13. Baluster Leg. Similar to the Adam style legs, except Baluster legs tend to have small lathe scrolling on the bottom and top quarters. It was popular in the 17th Century, though it was still being used through the 19th century.

14. Baroque. Baroque furniture pieces had elaborate ornamentation and plenty of details and featured exuberant and sometimes exaggerated decoration with elements integrated with harmony and balance in symmetrical compositions. The Baroque period began after the Renaissance, starting in Italy at the beginning of the 17th Century.

15. Bobbin Leg. This leg style featured spool-shaped, horizontal embellishments created with a lathe. Some antique furniture legs may feature round, oval, or squared sections interrupting these bobbins. This leg style was typical in the 17th Century.

16. Bombé. A French term for the outwardly curving shape of a piece of furniture, such as a bombé chest.

17. Buffet Deux Corps. A two-tiered buffet with the top cabinet being shallower than the bottom cabinet. The doors on the top panel may have wood or glass panels.

18. Bureau Plat. A flat writing table or desk, usually having several drawers.

19. Burl. Wood from an abnormal or diseased portion of a tree root or trunk (often caused by injuries to the bark.) Burl wood is highly prized for furniture due to the spectacular mottled or speckled patterns used to create beautiful veneers in formal and provincial furniture. Although rare, burls are most often found in elm and walnut wood.

20. Butterfly Joint. A joint is used to hold two or more wooden boards together or to keep two halves of a board that has started to split from splitting any further. They may also be used to stabilize the core of a knothole, preventing it from dropping out over time.

21. Cabriole Leg. An antique furniture leg style popular in the early to mid 18th Century, imitating the shape of a goat's legs when jumping. The style features inward curving ankles and outward bending knees which end in a decorative foot. This leg style is mainly associated with the Chippendale and Queen Anne antique furniture pieces.

22. Canapé. A sofa.

23. Chaise Longue/Chais Lounge. An upholstered couch in the shape of a chair which is long enough to support the legs.

24. Cartouche. A hand-carved embellishment that was common in antique French and Italian furniture. It is an ornately carved frame, usually oval, surrounded by scrollwork.

25. Chinoiserie. European furniture copied and employed Chinese style decorations and ornamentation prevalent in the 17th and 18th Centuries. Elaborately painted lacquer is a standard feature for chinoiserie furniture.

26. Chippendale. Chippendale and or Thomas Chippendale. Thomas Chippendale was a cabinetmaker in London, designing furniture in the mid-Georgian, English Rococo, and Neoclassic styles. So influential were his designs, in Britain, Europe, and America, 'Chippendale' became the shorthand description for any furniture he designed.

27. Classical. Having to do with Greek or Roman influences or designs and their derivatives.

28. Colonial. Short for Colonial American Furniture, several styles create the Colonial era of antiques. Colonial grew between 1700 to 1780, featuring practical designs and several style influencers, including early American, Jacobean, William and Mary, and Queen Anne.

29. Commode. A low chest of drawers, usually with short legs, is intended to be set against a wall or beside a bed.

30. Console. A table that stands against a wall and is usually supported by two bracket-shaped legs.

31. Coquille. A seashell or scallop-shaped carvings.

32. Corbeille a Fleurs. Literally, "flower baskets." Characteristic carvings are found in Louis XV-style furniture.

33. Credenza. A side table of buffet with a flat surface for serving and cabinet space for storage.

34. Demi-lune. Sometimes referred to as a "half-moon," it is a type of crescent-shaped table placed against a wall.

35. Deer Feet. Also known as Pied de Biche, deer feet typically can be found at the base of cabriole legs in Regence and Louis XV furniture, where the foot or the leg resembles the delicate hoof of a deer.

36. Dovetail Joinery. Dovetail joints have two parts, pins and tails. The tail looks like a dove's tail; hence the name and the pins are on the opposite board and fit between the tails to create a joint that is impossible to pull apart. Dovetail joints can commonly be seen in hand-made wooden or antique furniture drawers.

37. Duchesse Brisée. A chaise lounge, but split into two parts, in which the part supporting the legs is longer than the seat element.

38. Dutch Foot. A furniture foot style in which a simple, flattened oval-shaped block of wood rests on a disk or pad. It is a variation of the club foot.

39. Empire. Empire furniture, or Empire style, is an early 19th-century design movement representing the second phase of Neoclassicism. Empire style originated and takes its name from Emperor Napoleon I in the First French Empire when it was intended to idealize Napoleon's leadership and the French state.

40. Enfilade. Usually, a buffet in which the cabinet doors reveal connected compartments in a row. From the French word, "enfiler," meaning "to thread."

41. Escutcheon. An ornamental plate surrounds a keyhole.

42. Fauteuil. An upholstered armchair with open sides.

43. Federal. Federal furniture, or Federal style furniture, was built in the newly founded United States between 1780 and 1830, and heavily based on the world of Andrea Palladio, Federal style antique furniture broadly combines neoclassic furniture style characteristics with graceful straight lines, light construction, tapered legs, inlay, and contrasting veneers.

44. Flemish Scroll. A double scroll on furniture, usually on the leg, is formed of two C-scrolls in opposite directions joined by an angle. This furniture leg style emerged in the latter half of the 17th Century, found in late Baroque styles.

45. French Provincial. French Provincial is a furniture style that blends the French countryside with Parisian elegance. From polished, rustic looks to more ornate designs.

46. Gadrooning. An ornamental notching or carving of a rounded molding in wood. Often short oval fluting or reeding is used in decorating antique furniture.

47. Georgian. Popular from 1714 to 1820, Georgian-style furniture spanned the reign of three English Kings. Georgian style covers the Golden Age of furniture design, featuring good proportions, refinement of scale, and a more varied outline. The backs of chairs became shorter and more varied, and the cabriole leg remained, but the ball-and-claw foot is replaced by the typical round Dutch foot.

48. Girandole. An ornate and ornamental candlestick holder is often backed with a mirror.

49. Gothic. Gothic antique and antique reproduction furniture are characterized by ornate, unique artwork that contains the same elements found in Gothic architecture. Gothic antiques were created in Europe during the Middle Ages and featured straight, rigid, massive styles with large wood carvings. The years between 1300 and 1500 were known as the Gothic period.

50. Gothic Revival. Between 1830 and roughly 1860, the Gothic revival style antique and antique reproductions showcased bold or cut-out parts. Spirals and spool turnings in an Elizabethan style were frequent.

51. Gueridon. A small round table made to support a candlestick or a candelabrum.

52. Hepplewhite. Hepplewhite is a neoclassic style characterized by a delicate appearance, tapered legs, and the use of contrasting veneers and inlays. It is named after British designer and cabinetmaker George Hepplewhite.

53. Hoof Feet. Also known as Pied de sabots. Hoof feet are typically found at the end of cabriole legs in Regence and Louis XV furniture.

54. Inlay. A decorative technique of woodcarving to create an ornamental design, pattern, or scene by inserting or setting a different color or type of wood into a shallow or depressed surface of the wood.

55. Jacobean. A furniture style primarily made from oak and used mortise-and-tenon joints. Furniture makers of Jacobean furniture, between the years 1603 to 1625, showcased characteristics of rectilinear shapes; chairs had straight backs and rectangular seats. Furniture pieces began to be designed to be seen from all sides. Jacobean furniture was a transition between medieval style and the Renaissance that would follow with more curved lines and more designs meant for comfort.

56. Josef Dannhauser. Crafted in the furniture factory of Josef Ulrich Danhauser in Vienna, this antique reproduction style favors geometric simplicity, light wood, and little ornamentation.

57. John Cobb and William Vile. Two royal cabinetmakers and upholsterers to His Majesty King George III'. Vile created works in an Anglicized Rococo style, while Cobb's furniture was executed in the elegant Neoclassical style.

58. Knuckled Arm. Sometimes known as Scrolled Knuckle Arms, they are chair arm designs for their knuckle-shaped carving. It is often found in Chippendale and Regency-era antiques and antique reproductions.

59. Les os de mouton. A French term that translates literally as "Sheep's horn." This term refers to the curved stretchers, a quintessential element of Louis XIV furniture.

60. Marlborough. This leg style features a straight, square shape with little decoration. Occasionally, some Marlborough leg styles may have fluted grooves and detailed carvings. The Marlborough leg style generally ends in a block foot.

61. Marquetry. A decorative technique where wood veneers are sawn into a pattern and assembled like a jigsaw. Inlay differs as the inlay decoration is inset into a recess cut into a larger wood panel.

62. Marquise. A broad, spacious chair built to accommodate the wide skirts and panniers of the Louis XV period.

63. Mortise and Tenon Joinery. A mortice and tenon (or mortice and tenon) joint connect two pieces of wood. Cabinetmakers, woodworkers, and carpenters worldwide have used this joinery for thousands of years as they are solid and stable joints.

64. Mullion. A mullion is an architectural feature that divides window panes or is commonly used to decorate glass panes on display cabinets in antiques and antique reproductions.

65. Neoclassic. Neoclassic or Neoclassical furniture embraced bold, straight lines of movement and pure, geometric shapes and forms to replace the sinuous or serpentine curves of the Rococo period.

66. Parquetry. A geometric mosaic of veneer pieces that are used for ornament in both flooring and furniture.

67. Patera. A carved ornament is circular or oval, resembling a dish, and often decorated with leaves and petals, often in a corner block in furniture.

68. Patina. In furniture terms, it is a gloss or sheen on the surface resulting from age and polishing.

69. Pied de Biche. Also known as deer feet. Pied de Biche typically can be found at the base of cabriole legs in Regence and Louis XV furniture, where the foot or the leg resembles the delicate hoof of a deer.

70. Pied de sabots. Also known as hoof feet. Pied de sabots are typically found at the end of cabriole legs from Regence and Louis XV furniture.

71. Queen Anne. A style of furniture that described the decorative designs from the mid-1729s to around 1760. The Queen Anne style featured curved lines in feet, legs, arms, crest rails, pediments, and restrained ornament, often in the shape of shells.

72. Reeded. The reeded leg style mirrors Greek and Roman characteristics with fluted legs and large, carved grooves along the length. This leg style thrived during the Neoclassic, Regency, and Empire styles. Many Sheraton furniture pieces incorporate reeded legs.

73. Regency. A style of furniture that employed flat surfaces without carvings or contoured lines, with delicately painted or veneered wood. Characteristics of Regency-style furniture often featured motifs like rosettes, lion masks, and metal paw feet. It is called Regency, as it was popular during the regency of George, prince of Wales, and his reign as King George IV of England.

74. Rococo. Rococo furniture is inspired by the extravagance of the heavily decorated Rococo period in 18th Century France. Rococo antiques and antique reproductions are sumptuous and extreme in design, employing many different types of material and heavy ornamentation in a single piece.

75. Rosette. A rosette is a round carving that resembles a flower. It can be square-shaped, oval, or round. Rosettes typically feature Tudor roses, daisies, 8-petaled flowers, and roses. Occasionally a rosette may feature a lion's head or radial flutes.

76. Saber. Saber legs are a chair leg style featuring a splayed look that flares outward in a bent shape, much like the curved sword it is named after. Variations can be round or square shapes that gradually taper. Saber legs were famous in Sheraton, Regency, and Empire periods.

77. Serpentine. A part of or a furniture piece characterized by an undulating, central, convex (protruding) surface with concave ends.

78. Shell. A hand-carved motif within antique and reproduction furniture resembles the look of shells—popular ornamentation for early Georgian furniture.

79. Sheraton. A style of antique furniture that was Neoclassical with simple elegance. Featuring geometric shapes and straightforward, no-nonsense designs that elevated rectilinear forms and column-shaped legs. This style was named after Thomas Sheraton, an English cabinetmaker, and a Baptist preacher.

80. Spanish foot. Spanish Baroque artisans heavily influenced the famous Spanish foot on the table and chair legs. It was also known as "Braganza" foot. It featured a right or obtuse trapezoid carved to look like a scroll of a wave.

81. Spider. Spider legs or spider leg styles are thin, delicate, curved legs that extend below a tabletop, close to the floor, on three or four legs. The style generally ends in spade feet or no feet.

82. Spiral. Also known as spiral-twist, barley-twist, or barely sugar columns. This style showcased legs carved to look like spirals and was typical of Willam and Mary pieces, seeing a re-emergence during the late Empire and Federal periods as well as the Victorian age.

83. Trumpet. A thicker furniture leg style that ends with a trumpet-like shape. A trumpet leg has a dome-capped top and a base that ends with a ball, bun, or Spanish foot.

84. Veneer. A thin and decorative covering of fine wood is applied to a coarser wood or other material, covering something.

85. Victorian. A furniture style characterized by ornate carvings, dark woods, and heavy, luxurious fabrics. Natural images such as flowers, leaves, curling vines, ribbons, and bows often adorn Victorian antiques. This furniture style was made during the reign of Queen Victoria and was popular from 1840 to 1910.

86. Verde Gris/Verdigris. A shade of paint that is grayish green with either teal or green highlights and often used to paint18th-century Windsor chairs and furniture.

87. William and Mary. The William and Mary antique and reproduction furniture are associated with being slender, taller, and lighter in appearance, thanks in part to the creation of dovetailing and the cabriole leg. William and Mary style furniture took inspiration from emerging furniture styles from France. Named after Queen Mary and her husband, King William, Queen Mary brought many Dutch furniture makers to England because of her love for Dutch-style chairs, tables, and cabinets. The style was known for being sturdy, heavy-looking, and squat.