ovolo

American  

[oh-vuh-loh] / ˈoʊ vəˌloʊ /

noun

Architecture.

ovoli plural

1. a convex molding forming or approximating in section a quarter of a circle or ellipse.

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ovolo British  

/ ˈəʊvəˌləʊ /

noun

1. Also called: quarter round.   thumb.  architect a convex moulding having a cross section in the form of a quarter of a circle or ellipse Compare congé echinus

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• ovoli
  plural

Etymology

Origin of ovolo

1655–65; < Italian, variant (now obsolete) of uovolo, diminutive of uovo egg ¹ < Latin ōvum

Example Sentences

An ovolo of conventional egg and dart motive with the customary bead and reel astragal outlines the black marble facings of the fireplace opening.

From The Colonial Architecture of Philadelphia by Cousins, Frank

Effective use is made of a reeded ovolo, and the fascia of the architrave bears a pleasing hand-tooled band of vertical flutes with a festooned flat fillet112 running through it.

From The Colonial Architecture of Philadelphia by Cousins, Frank

Lastly, the crowning part is, in the Greek Doric, a single convex moulding, not very dissimilar in profile to the ovolo of the capital, and forming what we commonly call an eaves-gutter.

From Architecture Classic and Early Christian by Smith, T. Roger (Thomas Roger)

Here, however, the effect is slightly enriched by a nicely hand-tooled ovolo molding in the cornice of the penthouse roof that is repeated with an elliptical fan design in the pediment of the hood.

From The Colonial Architecture of Philadelphia by Cousins, Frank

In the Archaic-Greek Ionic order, owing to the greater width of the capital, the abacus is rectangular in plan, and consists of a carved ovolo moulding.

From The Project Gutenberg Encyclopedia Volume 1 of 28 by Project Gutenberg