n., pl., -ses (-sēz').
A slight convexity or swelling, as in the shaft of a column, intended to compensate for the illusion of concavity resulting from straight sides.
[Latin, from Greek, tension, from enteinein, to stretch tight : en-, intensive pref.; see en-2 + teinein, to stretch.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
