skewback

American  

[skyoo-bak] / ˈskyuˌbæk /

noun

Architecture.

1. a sloping surface against which the end of an arch rests.

2. a stone, course of masonry, or the like, presenting such a surface.

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skewback British  

/ ˈskjuːˌbæk /

noun

1. the sloping surface on both sides of a segmental arch that takes the thrust

2. one or more stones that provide such a surface

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Other Word Forms

• skewbacked adjective

Etymology

Origin of skewback

First recorded in 1695–1705; skew + back ¹

Example Sentences

The side forms were then placed and braced apart by the struts and concreting continued to the skewback plane indicated in Fig.

From Concrete Construction Methods and Costs by Gillette, Halbert Powers

Plate LX, the center wall and skewback were built, and the posts were removed, as shown by Fig. 2,

From Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Vol. LXVIII, Sept. 1910 The New York Tunnel Extension of the Pennsylvania Railroad. The Cross-Town Tunnels. Paper No. 1158 by Brace, James H.