discharging arch

noun

1. an arch for taking some of the weight from a structural member beneath it.

Word History and Origins

Origin of discharging arch¹

First recorded in 1810–20

Example Sentences

Discharging Arch Discharging Arch, an arch formed in the substance of a wall to relieve the part which is below it from the superincumbent weight.

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The Romans frequently employed the discharging arch, and inside the portico of the Pantheon the architraves have such arches over them.

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Gauged arches, being for the most part but a half-brick in thickness on the soffit and not being tied by a bond to anything behind them—for behind them is the lintel with rough discharging arch over, supporting the remaining width of the wall—require to be executed with great care and nicety.

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As the masons begin better to understand their art, the span of the arch increases, though a large arch for some time does duty merely as a discharging arch, and has smaller arches beneath and within it.

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