lintel

[ lin-tl ]

/ ˈlɪn tl /

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noun

a horizontal architectural member supporting the weight above an opening, as a window or a door.

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Also British, lin·tol .

Origin of lintel

1350–1400; Middle English lyntel<Middle French lintel, dissimilated variant of *linter<Latin līmitāris originally, belonging to or indicating a boundary; later taken as synonym of līmināris originally, of the threshold. See limit, -ar¹

Words nearby lintel

Lin Sen, linsey, linsey-woolsey, linstock, lint, lintel, linter, lintie, Linton, lintwhite, linty

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

How to use lintel in a sentence

The host stands under the lintel, faces north and salutes twice.
The Pandemic Changed How We Drink. It's Time to Go Back to the Joy of Social Drinking|Edward Slingerland|December 30, 2021|Time
When the upstairs bathroom in her New York home required stripping down to the original structure, a shoe was found hidden above the door lintel between the ceiling of the second floor and the attic floor.
Beer bottles and cans hidden behind the drywall? I’ll drink to that.|John Kelly|September 22, 2021|Washington Post
The height of the tablinum at the lintel should be one eighth more than its width.
Ten Books on Architecture|Vitruvius
The height of the lintel should be equivalent to the width of the jambs at the top.
Ten Books on Architecture|Vitruvius

She leaned on the doorway with her forehead against the lintel.
The Tragic Muse|Henry James
The granite lintel that had crushed the body of the old captains son had fallen also upon the captains heart.
Cursed|George Allan England
Then, "when I see the—blood—on the—lintel—and on the two—side-posts—I will not go in and—kill the first-born!"
The Sabbath-School Index|Richard Gay Pardee

British Dictionary definitions for lintel

lintel

/ (ˈlɪntəl) /

noun

a horizontal beam, as over a door or window

Word Origin for lintel

C14: via Old French probably from Late Latin līmitāris (unattested) of the boundary, influenced in meaning by līminaris of the threshold

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

lintel

Origin of lintel

Words nearby lintel

Words related to lintel

How to use lintel in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for lintel

Word Origin for lintel