bucranium

[ byoo-krey-nee-uh m ]
/ byuˈkreɪ ni əm /

noun, plural bu·cra·ni·a [byoo-krey-nee-uh] /byuˈkreɪ ni ə/.

(in classical architecture) an ornament, especially on a frieze, having the form of the skull of an ox.
Also bu·crane [byoo-kreyn] /byuˈkreɪn/.

Origin of bucranium

1850–55; < Late Latin būcrānium < Greek boukrā́ni(on) an ox-head, equivalent to Greek bou- (stem of boûs) ox + krāníon cranium