DEFINITION OF LEADING ARCHITECTURAL TERMS

Abacus -- the flat member at the top of a capital. Apse -- the semicircular space at the end of a building. Arcade -- a series of arches; is usually applied to the small ornamental arches only. Barrel vault -- resembling the inside of a barrel. Bead -- a small round moulding. Boss -- a projecting ornament in a vault at the intersection of the ribs. Canopy -- the head of a niche over an image; also the ornamental moulding over a door or window or tomb. Capital, cap -- the head of a column, pilaster, etc. Chamfer -- a sloping surface forming the bevelled edge of a square pier, moulding, or buttress, when the angle is said to be chamfered off. Chevron -- an inflected moulding, also called zigzag, characteristic of Norman architecture. Clere-story or clear-story -- the upper story of a church, as distinguished from the triforium or blind story below it, in which the openings, though resembling windows, are usually blank or blind, not glazed. Corbel -- a projecting stone to carry a weight, usually carved. Crocket -- an ornament usually resembling a leaf half opened, and projecting from the upper edge of a canopy or pyramidal covering. The term is supposed to be derived from the resemblance to a shepherd’s crook. Crypt -- a vault beneath a church, generally beneath the chancel only, and sometimes used for the exhibition of relics. Cusp -- an ornament used in the tracery of windows, screens, etc., to form foliation. Dormer -- an upright window placed on a sloping roof, giving light to the chambers next the roof. Fillet -- a small square band used on the face of mouldings. Finial -- the ornament which finishes the top of a pinnacle, a canopy, or a spire, usually carved into a bunch of foliage. Flying buttress -- an arch carried over the roof of an aisle from the external buttress to the wall of the clerestory, to support the vault. Gargoyle -- a projected water-spout, often ornamented with grotesque figures. Jambs -- the sides of a window opening or doorway. Mullion -- the vertical bar dividing the lights of a window. Ogee -- a moulding formed by the combination of a round and hollow. Pier arches -- the main arches of the nave or choir resting on piers. Pinnacle -- a sort of small spire usually terminating a buttress. Piscina -- a water-drain in a church placed on the right-hand side of an altar for the use of the priest. Plinth -- the projecting member forming the lower part of a base or of a wall. Shaft -- a small, slender pillar usually attached to a larger one, or in the sides of a doorway or window. Slype -- a passage leading from the transept to the chapter-house. String-course -- a horizontal moulding or course of masonry, usually applied to the one carried under the windows of the chancel, both externally and internally. Tooth ornament -- an ornament resembling a row of teeth, sometimes called dog’s tooth and shark’s tooth. Transept -- the portion of a building crossing the nave and producing a cruciform plan. Transition -- the period of a change of style, during which there is frequently an overlapping of the styles. Transom -- the transverse horizontal piece across the mullions of a window. Triforium -- or blind story the middle story of a large church, over the pier arches and under the clerestory windows; it is usually ornamented by an arcade, and fills the space formed by the necessary slope of the aisle roofs. Tympanum -- the space between the flat lintel of a doorway and the arch over it, usually filled with sculpture.