finial

[ fin-ee-uhl, fahy-nee- ]

noun

1. Architecture. a relatively small, ornamental, terminal feature at the top of a gable, pinnacle, etc.
2. an ornamental termination to the top of a piece of furniture, or of one part of such a piece.
3. Typography. a curve terminating the main stroke of the characters in some italic fonts.

finial

/ ˈfaɪnɪəl /

noun

1. an ornament on top of a spire, gable, etc, esp in the form of a foliated fleur-de-lys
2. an ornament at the top of a piece of furniture, etc

Derived Forms

• ˈfinialed, adjective

Other Words From

• fini·aled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of finial¹

1400–50; late Middle English, derivative of Latin fīnis end; -al ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of finial¹

C14: from finial (adj), variant of final

Example Sentences

And not content with this exuberance in the external ornaments of the arch, the finial interferes with its traceries.

From Project Gutenberg

He leads us up to the finial of one of the stalls, which is carved in the figure of a monk.

From Project Gutenberg

Each pillar is surmounted by a pinnacle, and behind each canopy rises a crocketed gable, again crowned by a huge finial.

From Project Gutenberg

Over each seat is an ogee canopy, cinquefoil, crocketed, and surmounted by a huge finial.

From Project Gutenberg

On each of its faces is an entrance through a pointed arch, ornamented with crockets and a finial.

From Project Gutenberg