corbel
/ˈkɔːbəl/ noun, verb
Forms corbels corbeling corbelling corbeled corbelled
- noun (architecture) A structural member jutting out of a wall to carry a superincumbent weight.
- verb (transitive) To furnish with a corbel or corbels; to support by a corbel; to make in the form of a corbel.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English corbel, from Old French corbel, from Late Latin corbellus, corvellus, diminutive of Latin corvus (“raven”), named for the shape's resemblance to a crow's beak. Doublet of corbeau.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A bracket supporting a superincumbent object, or receiving the spring of an arch. Corbels were employed largely in Gothic architecture.
- verb To furnish with a corbel or corbels; to support by a corbel; to make in the form of a corbel. To corbel out, to furnish with a corbel of courses, each projecting beyond the one next below it.
Etymology [F. corbeau, for older corbel, dim. of L. corbis basket. (Corbels were often in the form of a basket.) See Corbeil.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “corbel”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details