dentil

[ den-tl, -til ]

/ ˈdɛn tl, -tɪl /

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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.

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Origin of dentil

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

OTHER WORDS FROM dentil

dentiled, adjective

Words nearby dentil

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

How to use dentil in a sentence

Dentil band, in Classic architecture, a series of small blocks resembling square-shaped teeth.
Architecture|Thomas Roger Smith
The only carved molding is the Grecian fret of the dentil course in the pedimental cornice.
The Colonial Architecture of Philadelphia|Frank Cousins
Fragments of the lintel over the outer door, with its projecting dentil cornice, are preserved in one of the shops (Fig. 138).
Pompeii, Its Life and Art|August Mau
In the Diaconissa the notched dentil form is used for the beads; in the Chora, a 'bead and reel.'
Byzantine Churches in Constantinople|Alexander Van Millingen

External cornices are in coursed brick, the alternate courses being laid diagonally so as to form the characteristic dentil.
Byzantine Churches in Constantinople|Alexander Van Millingen

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