cornice
noun
- horizontal decorative molding that crowns a building or furniture
verb
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L331262 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈkɔːnɪs/ / /ˈkoɹnɪs/
noun
Etymology: From Middle French corniche or Italian cornice, possibly from either (1) Latin cornīx (“crow”) or (2) Latin coronis (“curved line, flourish in writing”), from Ancient Greek κορωνίς (korōnís). See also corniche.
- A horizontal architectural element of a building, projecting forward from the main walls, originally used as a means of directing rainwater away from the building's walls.
“It is a large square structure, two and a half stories in height, with a hipped roof rising above a handsome cornice with prominent modillions and surmounted by a balustraded belvedere.”
- A decorative element applied at the topmost part of the wall of a room, as with a crown molding.
“That ceiling was covered with square compartments,[...] It was supported by a gilded cornice, carved into a thousand curious shapes and emblems, among which the horned wolf, the crest of the Avonleigh family, was conspicuous.”
“Challenger looked up at the cornice and round at the skirting.”
- A decorative element at the topmost portion of certain pieces of furniture, as with a highboy.
“And blood was on the roof, and great gouts of blood on the walls and on the cornice of my bed.”
- An overhanging edge of snow on a ridge or the crest of a mountain and along the sides of gullies.
“Looking to the east we could see Api and the mountains of west Nepal, shapely snow peaks in the distance, while in the immediate foreground, much lower but still dramatic, were the peaks of Panch Chuli IV and V (III was hidden by the lip of a huge cornice), Telkot and Nagling, all of them unclimbed, all steep and challenging.”
verb
Etymology: From Middle French corniche or Italian cornice, possibly from either (1) Latin cornīx (“crow”) or (2) Latin coronis (“curved line, flourish in writing”), from Ancient Greek κορωνίς (korōnís). See also corniche.
- To furnish or decorate with a cornice.