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architrave

 
Dictionary: ar·chi·trave   (är'kĭ-trāv') pronunciation
 
n.
  1. The lowermost part of an entablature in classical architecture that rests directly on top of a column. Also called epistyle.
  2. The molding around a door or window.

[French, from Old French, from Old Italian : archi-, archi- + trave, beam (from Latin trabs, trab-).]


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Architecture: architrave
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1. In the classical orders, the lowest member of the entablature; the beam that spans from column to column, resting directly upon their capitals. Also see order.
2. The ornamental moldings around the faces of the jambs and lintel of a doorway or other opening; an antepagment.

architrave


 
Archaeology Dictionary: architrave
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[Co]

The horizontal member above two columns spanning the interval between them.

 
Columbia Encyclopedia: architrave
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architrave (är'kĭtrāv) , in architecture, principal beam and lowest member of the classical entablature, the other main members of which are the frieze and the cornice. Its position is directly above the columns, and it extends between them, thus carrying the upper members of the order (see orders of architecture). The term also applies to molding around the sides and top of a door or window frame.


 
Wikipedia: Architrave
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Architrave of the left-side portal in the facade of Sant'Ambrogio basilica in Milan, Italy
Architrave in the Basilica di San Salvatore, Spoleto, Italy.

The architrave (from Italian: architrave, also called an epistyle from Greek επίστυλο or door frame) is a moulded or ornamental band framing a rectangular opening.[1] It is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of the columns. As such, it is the lowest part of the entablature consisting of architrave, frieze and cornice. The word is derived from the Greek and Latin words arche and trabs combined together to mean "main beam". They are mainly used in churches and cathedrals, and other religious buildings. They can also be seen in modern houses.[2]

The architrave is different in the different orders. In the Tuscan, it only consists of a plain face, crowned with a fillet, and is half a module in height. In the Doric and composite, it has two faces, or fasciae; and three in the Ionic and Corinthian, in which it is 10/12 of a module high, though but half a module in the rest.[3]

The word architrave is also used to refer more generally to the mouldings (or other elements) framing a door, window or other rectangular opening.

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ Ching, Francis D.K. (1995). A Visual Dictionary of Architecture. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.. pp. 179, 186. ISBN 0-471-edrftgyhujikolp. 
  2. ^ Roth, Leland M (1993). Understanding Architecture: Its Elements History and Meaning. Oxford, UK: Westview Press. p. 520. ISBN 0-06-430158-3. 
  3. ^ This article incorporates content from the 1728 Cyclopaedia, a publication in the public domain.

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Architecture. McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Archaeology Dictionary. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology. Copyright © 2002, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Architrave" Read more

 

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