This page gathers the 894 dictionary entries belonging to the domain “Architecture”, as labelled by Wiktionary. Each word leads to its full entry: definitions, etymology, pronunciation, examples. Page 1 of 9: from “Aaron's rod” to “blueprint”.
- Aaron's rod noun A rod-shaped molding decorated with an entwined snake, and sometimes leaves, vines, or scrolls.
- abacus noun The uppermost portion of the capital of a column immediately under the architrave, in some cases a flat oblong or square slab, in others…
- abat-vent noun Louvres or strips of wood or metal used as windbreaks that allow light and air in, often seen in belfries.
- abutment noun The solid portion of a structure that supports the lateral pressure of an arch or vault.
- acanthus noun An ornament resembling the foliage or leaves of Acanthus spinosus, used in the capitals of the Corinthian and composite orders.
- accolade noun An ornament composed of two ogee curves meeting in the middle, each concave toward its outer extremity and convex toward the point at which…
- acoustic adj Used for soundproofing or modifying sound.
- acropodium noun A plinth or pedestal bearing a statue
- acroterium noun One of the small pedestals, for statues or other ornaments, placed on the apex and at the basal angles of a pediment, or upon the gables in…
- ad hocism noun An eclectic style in which various separately designed elements are combined.
- agraffe noun A carved keystone, usually decorated with a mascaron or a corbel, often used in Classical architecture.
- aileron noun A half gable, as at the end of a penthouse or of the aisle of a church.
- air well noun An architectural feature designed to promote ventilation.
- airlock noun A vestibule, foyer or entranceway with doors to the exterior on one end and doors to the interior on the other, functioning to keep indoor…
- airshaft noun A vertical (or near vertical) opening (shaft) running from a courtyard to the sky, thus allowing air to circulate to high-rise apartments…
- airshoot noun A channel for providing ventilation.
- ajaraca noun An ornamental pattern made in a wall from bricks that protrude halfway out; originally from parts of Spain.
- ala noun In ancient Rome, a small room opening into a larger room or courtyard.
- alcove noun A small recessed area set off from a larger room.
- allied arts noun The decorative arts as applied to buildings.
- ambry noun A cupboard or storage area in a church to hold books, communion vessels, vestments, etc. (usually in the sacristy); an armarium.
- amortisement noun A decorative element that appears at the top of a roof, gable, arch, buttress, or other structure that comes to a peak.
- amphiprostyle adj Having columns at either end but not along the sides.
- anchor noun A metal tie holding adjoining parts of a building together.
- ancon noun A console that appears to support a cornice.
- angle bead noun A bead worked on or fixed to the angle of any architectural work, especially for protecting an angle of a wall.
- angle leaf noun A detail in the form of a leaf, more or less conventionalized, used to decorate and sometimes to strengthen an angle.
- annulet noun A ring-shaped molding at the top of a column.
- anta noun A kind of pier that terminates the walls of the naos, a kind of post or pillar on either side of a doorway or entrance of a Greek temple.
- ante-cabinet noun A large saloon placed before the chamber in which the council of a prince or state hold private consultations.
- antefix noun The vertical blocks which terminate the covering tiles of the roof of a Roman, Etruscan, or Greek temple.
- antepagmentum noun In ancient architecture, a doorpost, or garnishing in a post or door, wrought in stone or timber, or lintel of a window.
- antic noun A grotesque representation of a figure; a gargoyle.
- apothesis noun A place on the south side of the chancel in primitive churches, furnished with shelves, for books, vestments, etc.
- apron noun A raised panel below a window or wall monument or tablet.
- apse noun The rounded east end of a church that contains or is behind the altar.
- apsidally adv With regard to or by means of an apse or apses
- apside noun Synonym of apse.
- apsis noun A recess or projection, with a dome or vault, at the east end of a church.
- apteral adj Without lateral columns; applied to buildings which have no series of columns along their sides, but are either prostyle or amphiprostyle.
- arabesque noun An elaborate design of intertwined floral figures or complex geometrical patterns, mainly used in Islamic art and architecture.
- arc boutant noun Synonym of flying buttress.
- arcade noun A row of arches.
- arcading noun An arrangement of arcades.
- arch noun An architectural element having the shape of an arch
- arching noun The arched part of a structure.
- architrave noun The lowest part of an entablature; rests on the capitals of the columns.
- arris noun A sharp edge or ridge formed by the intersection of two curved surfaces
- ashlar noun Masonry employing flat and well-squared stone or brick, creating an appearance similar to wooden flooring.
- astragal noun A semicircular molding separating the architrave at the top or bottom of a column.
- atlantid noun A figure of a man used as a column.
- atlas noun A figure of a man used as a column.
- atrium noun A central room or space in ancient Roman homes, open to the sky in the middle; a similar space in other buildings.
- attic noun A storey or a parapet above the cornice of a classical façade, often decorated.
- aulic adj Of, pertaining to, or resembling a palace.
- avant-corps noun A part of a building, such as a porch or pavilion, that juts out from the corps de logis, often taller than other parts of the building.
- bague noun An annular moulding or group of mouldings dividing a long shaft or clustered column into two or more parts.
- baguette noun A small molding, like the astragal, but smaller; a bead.
- bahut noun A dwarf-wall of plain masonry, carrying the roof of a cathedral or church and masked or hidden behind the balustrade.
- balconette noun A false balcony, or railing at the outer plane of a window-opening reaching to the floor, and resembling a balcony when the window is open.
- balcony noun An accessible structure extending from a building, especially outside a window.
- ball flower noun An embellishment found on medieval buildings, consisting of a ball enclosed in the petals of a flower.
- balloon noun A ball or globe on the top of a pillar, church, etc.
- balteus noun An Ionic ornamental band encircling the pulvinus, or bolster of the capital.
- baluster noun A short column used in a group to support a rail, as commonly found on the side of a stairway or around a balcony.
- band noun A continuous tablet, stripe, or series of ornaments, as of carved foliage, of colour, or of brickwork.
- bandelet noun A small band or fillet; any little band or flat moulding, compassing a column, like a ring.
- banderole noun A flat band with an inscription, common in Renaissance buildings.
- bar noun A gatehouse of a castle or fortified town.
- bare noun That part of a roofing slate, shingle, tile, or metal plate, which is exposed to the weather.
- barleycorn noun A small groove between two moldings.
- barrel vault noun A simple roof having a curved, often semicircular cross section; used to span large distances in railway stations, churches, etc. Usually…
- base noun The lowermost part of a column, between the shaft and the pedestal or pavement.
- basement noun A floor of a building below ground level.
- basilica noun A Christian church building having a nave with a semicircular apse, side aisles, a narthex and a clerestory.
- basket noun The bell or vase of the Corinthian capital.
- bastion noun A projecting part of a rampart or other fortification.
- batement light noun A window or one division of a window having vertical sides, but with the sill not horizontal, such as where it follows the rake (slope…
- batter verb To slope (of walls, buildings etc.).
- bay window noun A window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room.
- bead noun A narrow molding with semicircular section.
- beading noun A decorative, ornamental molding often used to conceal a joint.
- beak noun A continuous slight projection ending in an arris or narrow fillet; that part of a drip from which the water is thrown off.
- bearing noun That part of any member of a building which rests upon its supports.
- bed-mould noun The congeries of mouldings which is under the projecting part of almost every cornice, of which, indeed, it is a part.
- belfry noun A tower or steeple typically containing bells, especially as part of a church.
- bell noun The part of the capital of a column included between the abacus and neck molding; also used for the naked core of nearly cylindrical shape…
- bell cot noun A small or subsidiary construction, frequently corbelled out from the walls of a structure, and used to contain and support one or more…
- bell-gable noun An element crowning the upper end of the wall of a church and in which a bell is hung, usually in lieu of a campanile or bell tower.
- belly noun The hollow part of a curved or bent timber, the convex part of which is the back.
- belvedere noun A turret or other raised structure offering a pleasant view of the surrounding area.
- Bethlehem noun In the Ethiopic church, a small building attached to a church edifice, in which the bread for the Eucharist is made.
- bifora noun A window divided vertically into two openings by a small column or a mullion or pilaster; the openings are topped by round or pointed…
- biforate adj Having two doors or windows
- bilevel noun A house with two adjacent levels that are less than a story apart.
- billet noun An ornament in Norman work, resembling a billet of wood, either square or round.
- bioclimatic adj Focused on providing a comfortable microclimate.
- blade noun The principal rafters of a roof.
- blind spot noun The flaw of building that cannot be seen when collapsing because poor structure, built not according specified standards, or not…
- blueprint noun A detailed technical drawing (now often in some electronically storable and transmissible form).