corbel

[ kawr-buh l ]

/ ˈkɔr bəl /

Architecture

noun

any bracket, especially one of brick or stone, usually of slight extent.

a short horizontal timber supporting a girder.

verb (used with object), cor·beled, cor·bel·ing or (especially British) cor·belled, cor·bel·ling.

to set (bricks, stones, etc.) so as to form a corbel or corbels (usually followed by out).

to support by means of a corbel or corbels.

Words nearby corbel

coranto, corazón, corban, corbeil, corbeille, corbel, corbel arch, corbel out, corbel table, corbel vault, corbeling

Origin of corbel

1375–1425; late Middle English < Middle French < Medieval Latin corvellus, equivalent to Latin corv(us) raven¹ + -ellus diminutive suffix

Definition for corbelling (2 of 2)

corbeling

[ kawr-buh-ling ]

/ ˈkɔr bə lɪŋ /

noun Architecture.

the construction of corbels.

a system of corbels.

Also especially British, cor·bel·ling.

Origin of corbeling

First recorded in 1540–50; corbel + -ing¹

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

Examples from the Web for corbelling

The chamber is circular, and roofed partly by corbelling and partly by a large slab.
Rough Stone Monuments and Their Builders|T. Eric Peet
Buildings in which this system is used are occasionally roofed with slabs, but more often corbelling is employed.
Rough Stone Monuments and Their Builders|T. Eric Peet
In the passage the roof is of slabs laid right across, but the roof of the chamber is formed by corbelling.
Rough Stone Monuments and Their Builders|T. Eric Peet
The roof is formed by corbelling the walls and finishing off with slabs laid across.
Rough Stone Monuments and Their Builders|T. Eric Peet

The parapet and corbelling were renewed about forty years ago.
Scottish Cathedrals and Abbeys|Dugald Butler and Herbert Story

British Dictionary definitions for corbelling (1 of 2)

corbelling

US corbeling

/ (ˈkɔːbəlɪŋ) /

noun

a set of corbels stepped outwards, one above another

British Dictionary definitions for corbelling (2 of 2)

corbel

/ (ˈkɔːbəl) architect /

noun

Also called: truss a bracket, usually of stone or brick

verb -bels, -belling or -belled or US -bels, -beling or -beled

(tr) to lay (a stone or brick) so that it forms a corbel

Word Origin for corbel

C15: from Old French, literally: a little raven, from Medieval Latin corvellus, from Latin corvus raven

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