oriel

[awr-ee-uh l, ohr‐]

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noun

a bay window, especially one cantilevered or corbeled out from a wall.

(in medieval architecture) a large bay window of a hall or chamber.

Origin of oriel

1350–1400; Middle English < Anglo-French oriol porch, passage, gallery, perhaps ≪ Latin aureolus “gilded”

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for oriel

heart, cranny, hollow, dent, cubicle, depression, slot, angle, closet, cavity, nook, cell, crutch, fork, opening, alcove, cove, break, mouth, hole

Examples from the Web for oriel

Historical Examples of oriel

She assured herself of that as she returned to her post in the oriel window.
The Letter of the Contract
Basil King
He asked Raleigh at Oriel to join him, and the boy eagerly accepted.
Historic Boyhoods
Rupert Sargent Holland
He sank down on the oriel seat, the letter dropping from his hands.
Robert Elsmere
Mrs. Humphry Ward
But Oriel is no longer to rank as one of the moderate-sized colleges.
Oxford
Frederick Douglas How
And she hurried forth to the oriel window, where Jack was already perched.
In Convent Walls
Emily Sarah Holt

Word Origin and History for oriel

"large recessed window," mid-14c., from Old French oriol "hall, vestibule; oriel," of uncertain origin, perhaps from Medieval Latin oriolum "porch, gallery" (mid-13c.), perhaps from Vulgar Latin *auraeolum, dissimilated from aulaeolum, a diminutive of Latin aulaeum "curtain." Despite much research, the sense evolution remains obscure.