dentil

[ den-tl, -til ]

/ ˈdɛn tl, -tɪl /

noun Architecture.

any of a series of closely spaced, small, rectangular blocks, used especially in classical architecture beneath the coronas of Ionic, Corinthian, and Composite cornices.

Nearby words

denticulation, dentiform, dentifrice, dentigerous, dentigerous cyst, dentil, dentil band, dentilabial, dentilingual, dentin, dentin dysplasia

Origin of dentil

1655–65; < French dentille (obsolete), feminine diminutive of dent tooth

Related forms

den·tiled, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for dentil

In the later temples of Ionia, as in the temple of Priene, the larger scale of the dentil is still retained.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 2|Various
It has slightly pointed arches, with Venetian dentil borderings, and mosaics in the spandrils.
The Shores of the Adriatic|F. Hamilton Jackson
The ciborium has cipollino columns, antique caps, pointed arches, and Venetian dentil enrichments with marble inlays.
The Shores of the Adriatic|F. Hamilton Jackson
The first and third courses are stretchers and the middle course is composed of headers laid to form a dentil course.
Huntley|Tony P. Wrenn

The only carved molding is the Grecian fret of the dentil course in the pedimental cornice.
The Colonial Architecture of Philadelphia|Frank Cousins

British Dictionary definitions for dentil

dentil

/ (ˈdɛntɪl) /

noun

one of a set of small square or rectangular blocks evenly spaced to form an ornamental row, usually under a classical cornice on a building, piece of furniture, etc

Word Origin for dentil

C17: from French, from obsolete dentille a little tooth, from dent tooth

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