squinch

1
[ skwinch ]
See synonyms for: squinchsquinchedsquinching on Thesaurus.com

nounArchitecture.
  1. a small arch, corbeling, or the like, built across the interior angle between two walls, as in a square tower for supporting the side of a superimposed octagonal spire.

Origin of squinch

1
1490–1500; variant of scunch, short for scuncheon,Middle English sconch(e)on<Middle French escoinson, esconchon;see sconcheon

Words Nearby squinch

Other definitions for squinch (2 of 2)

squinch2
[ skwinch ]

verb (used with object)
  1. to contort (the features) or squint.

  2. to squeeze together or contract.

verb (used without object)
  1. to squeeze together or crouch down, as to fit into a smaller space.

Origin of squinch

2
1830–40; origin uncertain; cf. squint

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

How to use squinch in a sentence

  • De squinch-owl done hush, en de win' done gone, en it look like de water done stop sneakin' en crawlin' und' de bank.

    Mingo | Joel Chandler Harris
  • A squinch thrown across an arcade may be conjectured for strength were it not confuted by two buttresses on the outside.

  • And Cappy shook his head emphatically several times like a squinch-owl.

    Cappy Ricks Retires | Peter B. Kyne
  • Business was business with Mr. squinch, and social calls should be discouraged.

    Young Wallingford | George Randolph Chester
  • “Suppose that we say twenty-five hundred,” resumed Mr. squinch.

    Young Wallingford | George Randolph Chester

British Dictionary definitions for squinch

squinch

/ (skwɪntʃ) /


noun
  1. a small arch, corbelling, etc, across an internal corner of a tower, used to support a superstructure such as a spire: Also called: squinch arch

Origin of squinch

1
C15: from obsolete scunch, from Middle English sconcheon, from Old French escoinson, from es- ex- 1 + coin corner

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