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

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 Ballou, Maturin Murray

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 Calvert, A. F. (Albert Frederick)

Presently I came to a great Moorish gateway, a dark mass of stone, battlemented, with a lofty horseshoe arch.

From The Land of The Blessed Virgin; Sketches and Impressions in Andalusia by Maugham, W. Somerset (William Somerset)

The Moors of north Africa, however, never employed it, preferring the horseshoe arch which they brought into Spain and developed in the mosque of Cordova.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 4 "Aram, Eugene" to "Arcueil" by Various

Here we may see one more monument of the Moors, a horseshoe arch, once a part of the Mosque.

From The Story of Seville by Hartley, C. Gasquoine (Catherine Gasquoine)