lintel
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of lintel
1350–1400; Middle English lyntel < Middle French lintel, dissimilated variant of *linter < Latin līmitāris originally, belonging to or indicating a boundary; later taken as synonym of līmināris originally, of the threshold. See limit, -ar 1
Explanation
In architecture, a lintel is the beam or other support at the top of a door or window. Most lintels are decorative as well as providing structural support. A lintel can be purely ornamental, just an attractive horizontal flourish at the top of a door, or it can be a wood or metal support piece that also looks nice. Your fireplace might be topped by a stone lintel, and you might see a much older lintel in ancient Roman ruins, at the top of two massive pillars. In Old French, lintel means "threshold," from the Latin word limitaris, "bordering."
Vocabulary lists containing lintel
Built To Last: Architectural Parlance
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Learning Down The House: Parts of Your Home
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Unit 4: Powerful Openings
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The closing party also marks a big move: After this exhibition, Von Lintel is relocating to the Bendix Building in downtown.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 21, 2019
Underneath the Lintel: An Impressive Presentation of Lovely Evidences Arye Gross stars in Glen Berger’s solo drama about a reclusive librarian who undertakes a fantastical journey.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 15, 2017
Klea McKenna's ravishing images at Von Lintel Gallery start with rubbings of tree stumps, made in the dark of night using photographic paper.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 28, 2016
Photo: Lintel being lifted for replacement after adjustment of stones 6 and 7, Stonehenge, Wiltshire 17 March 1920.
From BBC • Jul. 21, 2015
Lintel, lin′tel, n. the piece of timber or stone over a doorway: the headpiece of a door or casement.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
