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squinch

noun, verb — 2 senses

squinch

noun

/skwɪnt͡ʃ/

Etymology Alteration of earlier scunch (“back part of the side of an opening”), short for scuncheon.

1

Architecture A structure constructed between two adjacent walls to aid in the transition from a polygonal to a circular structure, as when a dome is constructed on top of a square room.

squinch

verb

Etymology Uncertain. Probably blend of squint + pinch. Compare squink-eyed, variant of squint-eyed, so perhaps it is at least partly an altered form of squint.

1

To scrunch up (one's face, etc.).

  • The president squinched his face and bit his lip and seemed too antsy to stand still.2008 March 15, Gail Collins, “George Speaks, Badly”, in New York Times:
Derived terms
squinchy
Related terms
squinch owl

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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