GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS.
Abacus.—The uppermost portion of the capital of a column, upon which rested the weight above.
Aisle.—The lateral divisions of a church; more properly, the side subdivisions.
Amphitheatre.—A round or oval theatre.
Apse.—The semi-circular or polygonal termination to the choir or aisles of a church.
Arcade.—A series of arches supported on piers or columns.
Arch.—A construction of wedge-shaped blocks of stone or of bricks, of curved outline, spanning an open space.
Architrave.—(1) The lowest division of the entablature, in Classic architecture resting on the abacus. (2) The moulding used to ornament the margin of an opening.
Base.—The foot of a column or wall.
Basilica.—Originally a Roman hall of justice; afterward an early Christian church.
Buttress.—A projection built from a wall for strength.
Byzantine.—The Christian architecture of the Eastern church, sometimes called the round arched; named from Byzantium (Constantinople).
Capital.—The head of a column or pilaster.
Caryatid.—A statue of a woman used as a column.
Cathedral.—A church containing the seat of a bishop.
192 Cella.—That part of the temple within the walls.
Chamfer.—A slope or bevel formed by cutting off the edge of an angle.
Column.—A pillar or post, round or polygonal; the term includes the base, shaft, and capital.
Composite Order.—See Order.
Corinthian Order.—See Order.
Cornice.—The horizontal projection crowning a building or some portion of a building. Each classic order had its peculiar cornice.
Crypt.—A vault beneath a building.
Dome.—A cupola or spherical convex roof.
Doric Order.—See Order.
Entablature.—In classic styles all the structure above the columns except the gable. The entablature had three members, the architrave or epistyle, the frieze, and the cornice.
Entasis.—The swelling of a column near the middle to counteract the appearance of concavity caused by an optical delusion.
Epistyle.—See Architrave.
Façade.—The exterior face of a building.
Frieze.—The middle member of an entablature.
Gable.—The triangular-shaped wall supporting the end of a roof.
Gargoyle.—A projecting water-spout carved in stone or metal.
Hexastyle.—A portico having six columns in front.
Intercolumniation.—The clear space between two columns.
Ionic Order.—See Order.
Metope.—The space between the triglyphs in the frieze of the Doric Order.
Minaret.—A slender tower with balconies from which Mohammedan hours of prayer are called.
Mosaic.—Ornamental work made by cementing together small pieces of glass, stone, or metal in given designs.
Nave.—The central aisle of a church; the western part of the church occupied by the congregation.
Obelisk.—A quadrangular monolith terminating in a pyramid.
Order.—An entire column with its appropriate entablature. There are usually said to be five orders: Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, and Composite; the first and last are, however, only varieties of the Doric and Corinthian developed by the Romans. The peculiarities of the orders have been described in the body of the book. When more than one order was used in a building, the heavier and plainer, the Doric and Tuscan, are placed beneath the others.
Pediment.—In classic architecture what the gable (which see) was in later styles.
Peristyle.—A court surrounded by a row of columns; also the colonnade itself surrounding such a space.
Pier.—A solid wall built to support a weight.
Pilaster.—A square column, generally attached to the wall.
Pillar.—See Column.
Plinth.—A square member forming the lower division of the base of a column.
194 Polychrome.—Many-colored; applied to the staining of walls or architectural ornaments.
Quatrefoil.—A four-leaved ornament or opening.
Shaft.—The middle portion of a , between base and capital.
Story.—The portion of a building between one floor and the next.
Triglyph.—An ornament upon the Doric frieze consisting of three vertical, angular channels separated by narrow, flat spaces.