valance
Americannoun
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a short curtain or piece of drapery that is hung from the edge of a canopy, from the frame of a bed, etc.
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a short ornamental piece of drapery placed across the top of a window.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of valance
1400–50; late Middle English; perhaps after Valence, French city noted for cloth-making
Explanation
The flouncy bit of fabric at the top of a window is a valance. Sometimes, people use a valance to cover an unattractive curtain rod. Don't confuse valance with valence — you'll only use the latter when you're talking about atoms in chemistry class. A valance, on the other hand, is a decorative piece of drapery, part of a fairly elaborate window treatment. In Victorian times, valances were extremely popular, used by many home decorators. Experts suspect this word comes from the Old French valer, "go down or let down."
Vocabulary lists containing valance
"The Tragedy of Hamlet," Vocabulary from Act 2
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Vocabulary from Readings 4, Unit 9
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
At the center, resting on a plinth in front of a shallow niche and beneath a graceful valance of laurel, is French’s striking bronze portrait bust of Hunt.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026
Concealed with a valance or recessed into the cabinets, they can illuminate the entire length of a counter while remaining hidden from view.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 8, 2024
After surveying their distorted bodies and their impossible reflections in mirrors, my eye wanders off to the framing apparatuses of lavish curtains and valance.
From New York Times • Sep. 29, 2022
Hybridization is introduced to explain the geometry of bonding orbitals in valance bond theory.
From Textbooks • Feb. 14, 2019
Did it never occur to that young lady to lift the valance?
From Hints to Pilgrims by Brooks, Charles Stephen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
