spandrel

or span·dril

[ span-druh l ]

/ ˈspæn drəl /

noun

Architecture. an area between the extradoses of two adjoining arches, or between the extrados of an arch and a perpendicular through the extrados at the springing line.

(in a steel-framed building) a panellike area between the head of a window on one level and the sill of a window immediately above.

Philately. the decoration occupying the space at the corner of a stamp between the border and an oval or circular central design.

Nearby words

Origin of spandrel

1470–80; earlier spaundrell, probably < Anglo-French spaundre, itself perhaps cognate with Old French espandre to expand

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

Examples from the Web for spandrel

The derrick was used to handle material excavated from the pier foundations and also to tear down the centers and spandrel forms.
Concrete Construction|Halbert P. Gillette
He is fashioning not a leather rosette, but a Tudor rose in oak, to be afterwards pinned with an oak pin in some spandrel.
The Grotesque in Church Art|T. Tindall Wildridge
"I'm afraid I don't know what a spandrel is," Christopher announced with appealing frankness.
Christopher and the Clockmakers|Sara Ware Bassett
German clocks had this device of the cherub's head, but not in the spandrel.
Chats on Old Clocks|Arthur Hayden

For the arches and spandrel walls the gravel was passed over a 2-in.
Concrete Construction|Halbert P. Gillette

British Dictionary definitions for spandrel

spandrel

spandril

/ (ˈspændrəl) /

noun architect

an approximately triangular surface bounded by the outer curve of an arch and the adjacent wall

the surface area between two adjacent arches and the horizontal cornice above them

Word Origin for spandrel

C15 spaundrell, from Anglo-French spaundre spandrel, from Old French spandre to spread, expand

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for spandrel

spandrel

late 15c., "triangular space between the outer curves of an arch," apparently a diminutive of Anglo-French spaundre (late 14c.), perhaps a shortening of espandre "to expand, extend," from Latin expandre (see expand).