horseshoe arch

American  

noun

1. an arch with the intrados widening above the springing and then narrowing to a rounded crown.

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horseshoe arch British  

noun

1. an arch formed in the shape of a horseshoe, esp as used in Moorish architecture

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Etymology

Origin of horseshoe arch

First recorded in 1805–15

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

horseshoe arch

Each of the columns upholds a small pilaster, and between them is a horseshoe arch, no two of the columns being alike.

From Foot-prints of Travel or, Journeyings in Many Lands by Maturin Murray Ballou

We look at once for the hand and key so often referred to by Irving, and distinguish them with difficulty—the first over the outermost horseshoe arch, the latter over the middle arch.

From Southern Spain by A. F. (Albert Frederick) Calvert

The great original feature of the Mooresque architecture is found in the famous horseshoe arch, which was used so extensively in their mosques and palaces.

From History of Human Society by Frank W. (Frank Wilson) Blackmar

Twenty-eight feet above the pavement, over the horseshoe arch, a cabalistic key and a gigantic hand are carved on two stones.

From The Moors in Spain by Stanley Lane-Poole

And as on that day so on this, in the alcove under the horseshoe arch sat Ben Aboo and his Spanish wife.

From The Scapegoat; a romance and a parable by Sir Hall Caine

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