pendentive

American  

[pen-den-tiv] / pɛnˈdɛn tɪv /

noun

Architecture.

1. any of several spandrels, in the form of spherical triangles, forming a transition between the circular plan of a dome and the polygonal plan of the supporting masonry.

2. any of several masonry devices, as squinches or trompes, for forming a transition between a circular or polygonal construction, as a dome or lantern, and supporting masonry of a different plan.

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adjective

1. functioning as, or substituting for, a pendentive.

   pendentive corbeling.

pendentive British  

/ pɛnˈdɛntɪv /

noun

1. any of four triangular sections of vaulting with concave sides, positioned at a corner of a rectangular space to support a circular or polygonal dome

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Etymology

Origin of pendentive

1720–30; pendent + -ive, modeled on French pendentif

Example Sentences

For Beckwourth, 1980, presents a kind of solid wooden hogan with an ovoid top plastered in cracked mud, recalling both the primitive hut and the origins of the pendentive dome.

From Time Magazine Archive

On the south-eastern pendentive: the Mouth of Hell.

From Byzantine Churches in Constantinople Their History and Architecture by Van Millingen, Alexander

Notice also the exquisite pendentive of the roof at the point of intersection of the nave and short false transepts.

From Seeing Europe with Famous Authors, Volume 3 France and the Netherlands, Part 1 by Halsey, Francis W. (Francis Whiting)

The westernmost pendentive on either side rests on a Perpendicular corbel carved with delicate foliage.

From Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Ripon A Short History of the Church and a Description of Its Fabric by Hallett, Cecil Walter Charles

Stalactite work is employed in the pendentive of the smaller apses and in the capitals of the columns carrying the pointed arches.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 4 "Aram, Eugene" to "Arcueil" by Various