lierne

[ lee-urn ]

nounArchitecture.

an ornamental vaulting rib other than one springing from a pier or a ridge rib.

Origin of lierne

1835–45; <French: binding timber, equivalent to li(er) to bind (<Latin ligāre) + -erne< ?

Words Nearby lierne

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use lierne in a sentence

The vaulting is lierne vaulting, with short ribs, which connect the main ribs together.
Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Gloucester [2nd ed.] | H. J. L. J. Mass
Vaulting with intermediate ribs, ridge ribs, and late in the style lierne ribs, and bosses.
Architecture | Thomas Roger Smith
To the north of this screen is a rather late Gothic chapel with apse of three sides and lierne vaulting.
The Shores of the Adriatic | F. Hamilton Jackson
The clerestory follows round from the nave, and overhead is the later lierne vault.
Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Norwich | C. H. B. Quennell
It is separated from the Lady Chapel by an open-work screen, which is very beautiful, and has a fine lierne vault.
The Cathedrals of Great Britain | P. H. Ditchfield

British Dictionary definitions for lierne

lierne

/ (lɪˈɜːn) /

noun

architect a short secondary rib that connects the intersections of the primary ribs, esp as used in Gothic vaulting

Origin of lierne

C19: from French, perhaps related to lier to bind

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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