Glossary of Architectural Terms

Bargeboard: A board trim that is usually carved and projects from the gable line of a roof.
Bellcast: A curved shape resulting in a lower pitch at the bottom of a roof slope, thus taking the shape of the bottom rim of a large bell.
Casement: A window that is vertically hinged and may open either inward or outward.
Catslide: A pitched roof covering one side of a roof and continuing at the same pitch over a side or rear extension of the building to a point lower than the opposite roof line.
Clapboards: Tapered horizontal boards used as siding, thickest on their bottom edge, each one overlapping the one below.
Corbel: A bracket of stone, wood, or brick projecting from the face of a wall and generally used to support a cornice or arch.
Cornice: Any projecting ornamental molding that finishes or crowns the top of a building, wall, or arch.
Cornice Return: The continuation of the cornice in a different direction, usually at a right angle and at the gable end of a house.
Cupola: A small dome-like structure situated on top of a roof or turret. Commonly cube or round in shape.
Dentil: One of a series of small blocks used to form an ornamental row as in a denticulated cornice.
Dormer: A window that projects from a sloping roof and is covered with a small gable, shed, or other roof structures.
Double Hung: Referring to a window with two sashes that opens by means of one or both sashes sliding vertically past each other.
Gable: The triangular section of the end wall formed by two sloping roofs. Sometimes refers to the whole end wall of a building or wing having a pitched roof.
Gable Roof: A roof that has one slope on opposite sides of the ridge with a gable at either end.
Gambrel Roof: A roof that has two slopes on opposite sides of the ridge where the upper slope is of a lesser pitch than the lower slope. Often associated with barn roofs.
Gingerbread: Ornate trim resembling cut work.
Half-timbered: In medieval times, a building with exposed wood framing whereby the spaces between the wooden timbers are filled with plaster, brick, or stone. Houses built in the late 19th and 20th centuries imitated the early half-timbered methods- the timbers are generally not part of the structure and are for ornamental purposes only.
Hip Roof: A roof that has a slope on all four sides of a building; the joint where two slopes of a roof meets is called a hip.
Impost: The uppermost part of a column or pillar supporting an arch.
Irregular Massing: In the late 19th century, improved heating systems and building construction allowed for many extensions and re-entrants to a home. A "footprint" of an irregular massed home would show many corners and "nooks."
Keystone: The central upper most stone of an arch.
Lintel: A horizontal structural member at the top of a window or a door that carries the load of the wall above; usually made of wood, stone, or metal.
Modillion: An ornamental bracket or scroll, generally used in a series, beneath the building or porch cornice.
Oriel: A window projecting from the wall of a house.
Palladian Window: A three-part window where the center window is arched and wider than the other two flat topped side windows.
Pediment: The triangular face of a roof gable, typically used as a decoration above a window, door, or dormer on porches.
Pendill: The carved or molded bottom end ornament of a hanging-vertical member of a decorative structure or bracket; can also e a carved wood ornament that terminates the bottom end of second floor posts in frame construction.
Pilaster: A flat, rectangular column projecting only slightly form a wall; usually has a base, shaft, and capital and is often fluted to simulate a classical column.
Porte Cochere: A doorway by which a carriage may be driven under or through a portion of the building.
Segmental Arch: A type of circular arch that does not extend on the sides to a full half circle; often found on the tops of windows.
Shed Roof: A roof with one sloping plane.
Shiplap Siding: Horizontal boards used as siding, with rabbeted edges to make an overlapping joint.
Transom: A small window above a door or other window, sometimes fixed and sometimes movable, that is used to provide additional natural light and ventilation.
Truncated: Cut off or cut short, usually in reference to a roof.
Turret: A small tower usually found on a corner of a building.
Tympanum: The semicircular space between a lintel of a door an the arch above it.