ashlar

or ash·ler

[ash-ler]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ashlar ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Masonry.

a squared building stone cut more or less true on all faces adjacent to those of other stones so as to permit very thin mortar joints.
such stones collectively.
masonry made of them.

Carpentry. a short stud between joists and sloping rafters, especially near the eaves.

verb (used with object)

to face with ashlars.

Origin of ashlar

1325–75; Middle English ascheler < Middle French aissel(i)er < Latin axillāris, equivalent to axill(a) (axis board, plank, axis¹ + -illa diminutive suffix) + -āris -ar¹; cf. -ar²

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for ashlar

trade, brickwork, stonework

Examples from the Web for ashlar

Historical Examples of ashlar

The flame that clomb the ashlar gray Had burned it red as tile.
Poems by the Way
William Morris
The front of the Propylæum is of ashlar and rock-face work, and it is pronounced a very beautiful structure.
Miss Ashton's New Pupil
Mrs. S. S. Robbins
Ashlar, masonry consisting of stones squared and smoothed in front and built in regular courses.
The New Gresham Encyclopedia. Vol. 1 Part 2
Various
It is built of rubble masonry, with ashlar facework, laid in hydraulic mortar.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 595, May 28, 1887
Various
“Ashlar means a building stone cut and dressed,” explained David.
In the Days of the Guild
Louise Lamprey

British Dictionary definitions for ashlar

ashlar

ashler

noun

a block of hewn stone with straight edges for use in building

Also called: ashlar veneer a thin dressed stone with straight edges, used to face a wall

masonry made of ashlar

Word Origin for ashlar

C14: from Old French aisselier crossbeam, from ais board, from Latin axis axletree; see axis 1

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 ashlar

late 14c., "square stone for building or paving," from Old French aiseler, from Latin axillaris, from axilla, diminutive of axis "board, plank," which is perhaps not the same axis that means "axle." The stone sense is peculiar to English.