ashlar

American  

[ash-ler] / ˈæʃ lər /

Or ashler

noun

1. Masonry.

   1. 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.

   2. such stones collectively.

   3. masonry made of them.

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

---

verb (used with object)

1. to face with ashlars.

ashlar British  

/ ˈæʃlə /

noun

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

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

3. masonry made of ashlar

---

Etymology

Origin of ashlar

1325–75; Middle English ascheler < Middle French aissel ( i ) er < Latin axillāris, equivalent to axill ( a ) ( axis board, plank, axis ¹ + -illa diminutive suffix) + -āris -ar ¹; -ar ²

Example Sentences

The syncopation of transparent and opaque windows, alternating with ashlar panels, can suggest the patterns of kente cloth.

From New York Times • Dec. 12, 2022

When he began with Bambridge, it took him three days to make an ashlar.

From Time Magazine Archive

The name "brick-ashlar" is given to walls faced with ashlar stonework backed in with brickwork.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 3 "Brescia" to "Bulgaria" by Various

The fine ashlar work of el-Hadr is no longer adhered to, and in its place we find rubble masonry with thick mortar joints, the walls being covered afterwards, both externally and internally, with stucco.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 4 "Aram, Eugene" to "Arcueil" by Various

The ashlar and semi-columns, not being well bonded and deeply headed into the rubble cores, split and bulged, and the cores, for want of a proper proportion of lime, diminished and crushed to pieces.

From Bell’s Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Hereford, A Description Of Its Fabric And A Brief History Of The Episcopal See by Fisher, A. Hugh (Alfred Hugh)