triglyph

[ trahy-glif ]

/ ˈtraɪˌglɪf /

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noun Architecture.

a structural member of a Doric frieze, separating two consecutive metopes, and consisting typically of a rectangular block with two vertical grooves or glyphs, and two chamfers or half grooves at the sides, together counting as a third glyph, and leaving three flat vertical bands on the face of the block.

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Origin of triglyph

1555–65; <Latin triglyphus<Greek tríglyphos thrice-grooved, equivalent to tri-tri- + glyph(ḗ) glyph + -os adj. suffix

OTHER WORDS FROM triglyph

triglyphed, adjectivetri·glyph·ic, tri·glyph·i·cal, adjective

Words nearby triglyph

trigger point, trigger warning, trigger word, trigger zone, triglyceride, triglyph, trigo, trigon, trigonal, trigonal trisoctahedron, trigone

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use triglyph in a sentence

The capitals of each triglyph are to measure one sixth of a module.
Ten Books on Architecture|Vitruvius
The short band, corresponding to the triglyph, beneath the tnia moulding which crowns the epistyle; the listel.
History of Ancient Art|Franz von Reber
Triglyph, trī′glif, n. a three-grooved tablet at equal distances along the frieze in Doric architecture.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements)|Various
Thus, in the Doric temple, the triglyph and cornice are unimitative; or imitative only of artificial cuttings of wood.
The Seven Lamps of Architecture|John Ruskin

Hence the metopes next to the corner columns do not come out perfectly square, but are too broad by half the width of a triglyph.
Ten Books on Architecture|Vitruvius

British Dictionary definitions for triglyph

triglyph

/ (ˈtraɪˌɡlɪf) /

noun

architect a stone block in a Doric frieze, having three vertical channels

Derived forms of triglyph

triglyphic, adjective

Word Origin for triglyph

C16: via Latin from Greek trigluphos three-grooved, from tri- tri- + gluphē carving. See glyph

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