ORIEL

oriel, oriel window

(noun) a projecting bay window corbeled or cantilevered out from a wall

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Noun

oriel (plural oriels)

(architecture) A large polygonal recess in a building, such as a bay window, forming a protrusion on the outer wall.

(obsolete) A gallery for minstrels.

(obsolete) A small apartment next to a hall, used for dining.

Usage notes

• There is no generally accepted difference between a bay window and an oriel. In the United States, the latter name is often applied to bay windows which are small, and either polygonal or round, and to those that are corbelled out from the wall instead of resting on the ground.

Anagrams

• El Rio, Le Roi, LeRoi, Leroi, Loire, Lorie, oiler, reoil

Source: Wiktionary

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O"ri*el, n. Etym: [OF. oriol gallery, corridor, LL. oriolum portico, hall, prob. fr. L. aureolus gilded, applied to an apartment decorated with gilding. See Oriole.] [Formerly written also oriol, oryal, oryall.]

1. A gallery for minstrels. [Obs.] W. Hamper.

2. A small apartment next a hall, where certain persons were accustomed to dine; a sort of recess. [Obs.] Cowell.

3. (Arch.)

Definition: A bay window. See Bay window. The beams that thro' the oriel shine Make prisms in every carven glass. Tennyson.

Note: There is no generally admitted difference between a bay window and an oriel. In the United States the latter name is often applied to bay windows which are small, and either polygonal or round; also, to such as are corbeled out from the wall instead of resting on the ground.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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