dentil

[ den-tl, -til ]

nounArchitecture.
  1. any of a series of closely spaced, small, rectangular blocks, used especially in classical architecture beneath the coronas of Ionic, Corinthian, and Composite cornices.

Origin of dentil

1
1655–65; <French dentille (obsolete), feminine diminutive of denttooth

Other words from dentil

  • dentiled, adjective

Words Nearby dentil

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use dentil in a sentence

  • dentil band, in Classic architecture, a series of small blocks resembling square-shaped teeth.

    Architecture | Thomas Roger Smith
  • The only carved molding is the Grecian fret of the dentil course in the pedimental cornice.

  • Fragments of the lintel over the outer door, with its projecting dentil cornice, are preserved in one of the shops (Fig. 138).

  • In the Diaconissa the notched dentil form is used for the beads; in the Chora, a 'bead and reel.'

    Byzantine Churches in Constantinople | Alexander Van Millingen
  • External cornices are in coursed brick, the alternate courses being laid diagonally so as to form the characteristic dentil.

    Byzantine Churches in Constantinople | Alexander Van Millingen

British Dictionary definitions for dentil

dentil

/ (ˈdɛntɪl) /


noun
  1. one of a set of small square or rectangular blocks evenly spaced to form an ornamental row, usually under a classical cornice on a building, piece of furniture, etc

Origin of dentil

1
C17: from French, from obsolete dentille a little tooth, from dent tooth

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012