Oriel

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Oriel \O"ri*el\, n. [OF. oriol gallery, corridor, LL. oriolum
     portico, hall, prob. fr. L. aureolus gilded, applied to an
     apartment decorated with gilding. See {Oriole}.] [Formerly
     written also {oriol}, {oryal}, {oryall}.]
     [1913 Webster]
     1. A gallery for minstrels. [Obs.] --W. Hamper.


        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. A small apartment next a hall, where certain persons were
        accustomed to dine; a sort of recess. [Obs.] --Cowell.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. (Arch.) A bay window. See {Bay window}.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The beams that thro' the oriel shine
              Make prisms in every carven glass.    --Tennyson.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: There is no generally admitted difference between a bay
           window and an oriel. In the United States the latter
           name is often applied to bay windows which are small,
           and either polygonal or round; also, to such as are
           corbeled out from the wall instead of resting on the
           ground.
           [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  oriel
       n : a projecting bay window corbeled or cantilevered out from a
           wall [syn: {oriel window}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  38 Moby Thesaurus words for "oriel":
     alcove, bay, bay window, bow window, carrel, casement,
     casement window, corner, cove, cranny, cubby, cubbyhole, cubicle,
     fan window, fanlight, grille, lancet window, lantern, lattice,
     light, louver window, niche, nook, pane, picture window, port,
     porthole, recess, roomlet, rose window, skylight, snuggery,
     transom, wicket, window, window bay, window glass, windowpane