Architectural Glossary

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- Architectural Glossary

ashlar:a square-cut building stone; a thin, dressed, square stone used for facing masonry walls battlement: a parapet with open spaces for shooting, built on top of a castle wall, tower; also used as an architectural decoration

castellated: built like a castle, with turrets and battlements; having many castles

colonnades: a series of columns set at regular intervals, usually supporting a roof or series of arches

cornice: a decorative molding which forms the top piece of a window, ceiling, or exterior wall

crocket: carved ornament, as of curved leaves or flowers, decorating the angles of roofs, gables, etc., esp. in Gothic architecture

dentil: one of a series of small, square, tooth- or block-like projections that form a molding; especially associated with Greek Revival and Colonial Revival styles

dormer: the roofed projection in which the upright window of a sloping roof is set.

façade: the front of a building; part of a building facing a street,courtyard,etc.

gingerbread: showy ornamentation; gaudy or fancy carvings on furniture, gables, etc.

lathe: a machine that shapes an article of wood, metal, etc. by securing the material and rotating it rapidly against the edge of a cutting or abrading tool

mansard: a roof with two slopes on each of its four sides, the lower slope steeper than the upper

masonry: the art or trade of a mason (brick-layer, stone-worker)

monochrome: a painting, drawing, design, or photograph in one color or shades of one color

pediment: the triangular gabled end of a roof above the horizontal cornice

pilaster: an attached pier or pillar, often with a "capital"base

polychromatic: having various or changing colors

portico: a porch or covered walk, consisting of a roof supported by columns, often at the entrance or across the front of a building;colonnade

quoins: decorative blocks of stone or wood used as cornerstones of buildings

spire: anything that tapers to a point, such as a pointed structure capping a tower or steeple

stringcourse: a decorative, horizontal course of brick or stone set in the wall of a building

turret: a small tower projecting from a building, usually at a corner; usually serves an ornamental purpose only

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