oriel

American  

[awr-ee-uhl, ohr‑] / ˈɔr i əl, ˈoʊr‑ /

noun

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

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

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Etymology

Origin of oriel

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

Example Sentences

Wrought-iron balconies, turrets, oriel windows: block after block, the residential facades were unique and homogenous at the same time.

From New York Times • Dec. 23, 2011

So, let's go ... through the neo-gothic oriel window!

From The Guardian • Jul. 2, 2010

Lichfield has a gallery over the sacristy door, which served the same purpose; and at Worcester an oriel was probably used by the watchers.

From Ecclesiastical Curiosities by Various

Some of the decorative bits that catch the eye right and left, are absolute gems in their way—whether oriel windows, or fantastic turrets, or figures and devices embossed and sculptured.

From Mathieu Ropars: et cetera by Young, William

The Old Hall, of the 15th century, enlarged in the 16th, is a picturesque building, forming three sides of a quadrangle, partially timber-framed, but having a beautiful oriel window and other parts of stone.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 4 "G" to "Gaskell, Elizabeth" by Various