entasis

American  

[en-tuh-sis] / ˈɛn tə sɪs /

noun

Architecture.

1. a slight convexity given to a column or tower, as to correct an optical illusion.

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entasis British  

/ ˈɛntəsɪs /

noun

1. a slightly convex curve given to the shaft of a column, pier, or similar structure, to correct the illusion of concavity produced by a straight shaft

2. Also called: entasia.  physiol an involuntary or spasmodic muscular contraction

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Etymology

Origin of entasis

1745–55; < Greek, equivalent to enta- (variant stem of enteínein to stretch tight, equivalent to en- en- ² + teínein to stretch) + -sis -sis

Example Sentences

The ancient Greeks made their columns bulge out slightly about a third of the way up to correct for the optical illusion of concavity — a technique known as entasis.

From Washington Post

This is called the entasis of the spire, and belongs to the study of optics in architecture.

From Our Homeland Churches and How to Study Them by Heath, Sidney

This addition to the form of a truncated cone is the entasis.

From A History of Greek Art by Tarbell, Frank Bigelow

The columns, which are of Curzola marble, belong to the earlier building, though the entasis shows that classical feeling was beginning to affect even architects who worked in Gothic.

From The Shores of the Adriatic The Austrian Side, The Küstenlande, Istria, and Dalmatia by Jackson, F. Hamilton (Frederick Hamilton)

The entasis of columns and curvature of what would ordinarily be straight lines is familiar to all students of architecture.

From The Brochure Series of Architectural Illustration, Volume 01, No. 08, August 1895 Fragments of Greek Detail by Various