architrave

[ahr-ki-treyv]

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.

Origin of architrave

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

Related formsar·chi·tra·val, adjectivear·chi·traved, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for architrave

Historical Examples of architrave

The architrave, for example, has three facias instead of being plain.
Architecture
Thomas Roger Smith
The entablature is a positive triumph in cornice, frieze and architrave.
The Colonial Architecture of Philadelphia
Frank Cousins
The architrave has the height of one half of the thickness of a column.
Ten Books on Architecture
Vitruvius
C is one of the Faces of the Sabliers which serve instead of an Architrave.
An Abridgment of the Architecture of Vitruvius
Vitruvius
The Frise ought not to be so high as the Architrave by a 4th.
An Abridgment of the Architecture of Vitruvius
Vitruvius

British Dictionary definitions for architrave

architrave

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

Word Origin and History for architrave

1560s, from Italian architrave, from archi- "beginning, origin" (see archon) + trave "beam," from Latin trabem (nominative trabs) "beam, timber," from PIE *treb- "dwelling" (see thorp).