finial
Americannoun
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Architecture. a relatively small, ornamental, terminal feature at the top of a gable, pinnacle, etc.
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an ornamental termination to the top of a piece of furniture, or of one part of such a piece.
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Typography. a curve terminating the main stroke of the characters in some italic fonts.
noun
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an ornament on top of a spire, gable, etc, esp in the form of a foliated fleur-de-lys
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an ornament at the top of a piece of furniture, etc
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of finial
1400–50; late Middle English, derivative of Latin fīnis end; see -al 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
We see how the form of a finial was generated by the progressive subdivision of a square, precisely the same process by which the mason would incise and cut his stone.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 2026
They were gleaming and galactic-themed with a swirling purple-and-black design and a lunar white round barrel finial.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 30, 2022
In addition to the Rembrandt, there were some unusually esoteric items that were taken as well, like a Chinese gu vessel and a finial off a Napoleonic flag.
From Salon ● Apr. 7, 2021
Myrick spray-painted a nearby cement finial in the same bright yellow as the fence.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 14, 2021
The blue girl’s ghost gathered itself and perched, bereft, upon the spearpoint-tip of the projecting finial, just an inch above her own still chest.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
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