antefix
Americannoun
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an upright ornament at the eaves of a tiled roof, to conceal the foot of a row of convex tiles that cover the joints of the flat tiles.
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an ornament above the top molding of a cornice.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of antefix
First recorded in 1825–35; from Latin antefīxa, neuter plural of antefīxus “fastened in front,” equivalent to ante- “before” + fīxus, past participle of fīgere “to fix”; see origin at ante-, fix
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.
See Examples For:
Its gable wall is topped by an antefix cross with bifid branches.
From Romanesque Art in Southern Manche: Album by Lebert, Marie
The antefix has the breadth of a hole and one eighth, and the thickness of one hole.
From The Ten Books on Architecture by Vitruvius Pollio
The antefixes were seized on Aug. 4, 2021, from a New York collector who had purchased them on the market.
From New York Times ● Nov. 17, 2021
In ancient Etruscan civilization, antefixes were lively terra-cotta objects that often depicted female figures crowned by diadems, a jeweled crown or headband.
From New York Times ● Nov. 17, 2021
The compluvium also was ornamented with a row of triangular tiles called antefixes, on which a mask or some other object was moulded in relief.
From Museum of Antiquity A Description of Ancient Life by Haines, T. L. (Thomas Louis)
The roof around the compluvium was edged with a row of highly ornamented tiles, called antefixes, on which a mask or some other figure was moulded.
From Museum of Antiquity A Description of Ancient Life by Haines, T. L. (Thomas Louis)
It is an impressive round-fronted classic structure of gray stone in the Corinthian order, with a semicircular colonnade above the first story supporting a handsomely executed entablature with conspicuous antefixes about the cornice.
From The Colonial Architecture of Philadelphia by Cousins, Frank
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.
