architrave

[ ahr-ki-treyv ]

/ ˈɑr kɪˌtreɪv /

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noun Architecture.

the lowermost member of a classical entablature, resting originally upon columns.

a molded or decorated band framing a panel or an opening, especially a rectangular one, as of a door or window.

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Origin of architrave

1555–65; Middle French <Italian; see archi-, trave¹

OTHER WORDS FROM architrave

ar·chi·tra·val, adjectivear·chi·traved, adjective

Words nearby architrave

architectonics, architectural, architectural bronze, architecture, architecture parlante, architrave, archival, archival storage, archive, archivist, archivolt

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use architrave in a sentence

The horizontal lines of the architrave and cornice predominate over the vertical lines of the columns.
Beacon Lights of History, Volume I|John Lord
The architrave has the height of one half of the thickness of a column.
Ten Books on Architecture|Vitruvius
On the capitals of the pillars there runs all round a stately architrave and cornice, rarely carved.
Early Travels in Palestine|Arculf et al.
Eight porphyry columns support an antique architrave; and eight smaller columns of marble rise from this and support the dome.
Cathedral Cities of Italy|William Wiehe Collins

This Francesco made an architrave-ornament running downward from above, which is wrong according to the rules of architecture.
Lives of the Most Eminent Painters Sculptors and Architects|Giorgio Vasari

British Dictionary definitions for architrave

architrave

/ (ˈɑːkɪˌtreɪv) /

noun architect

the lowest part of an entablature that bears on the columns

a moulding around a doorway, window opening, etc

Word Origin for architrave

C16: via French from Italian, from archi- + trave beam, from Latin trabs

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