pendentive

American  

[pen-den-tiv] / pɛnˈdɛn tɪv /

noun

Architecture.

1. any of several spandrels, in the form of spherical triangles, forming a transition between the circular plan of a dome and the polygonal plan of the supporting masonry.

2. any of several masonry devices, as squinches or trompes, for forming a transition between a circular or polygonal construction, as a dome or lantern, and supporting masonry of a different plan.

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adjective

1. functioning as, or substituting for, a pendentive.

   pendentive corbeling.

pendentive British  

/ pɛnˈdɛntɪv /

noun

1. any of four triangular sections of vaulting with concave sides, positioned at a corner of a rectangular space to support a circular or polygonal dome

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Etymology

Origin of pendentive

1720–30; pendent + -ive, modeled on French pendentif

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pendentive

For Beckwourth, 1980, presents a kind of solid wooden hogan with an ovoid top plastered in cracked mud, recalling both the primitive hut and the origins of the pendentive dome.

From Time Magazine Archive

But in the application of the dome the true pendentive is used.

From Byzantine Churches in Constantinople Their History and Architecture by Van Millingen, Alexander

The pendentive upon which the prophet Jonah sits, descends and breaks the surface at the top, leaving a semicircular compartment on each side of its corbel.

From The Life of Michelangelo Buonarroti by Symonds, John Addington

On the lower parts of the pendentive the paintings were so much damaged that the subjects were hardly recognizable.

From The Lock and Key Library The most interesting stories of all nations: French novels by Hawthorne, Julian

The angel figures of the pendentive are worthy of notice.

From Correggio A Collection Of Fifteen Pictures And A Portrait Of The Painter With Introduction And Interpretation by Correggio