gutta

views updated Jun 11 2018

gutta (pl. guttae). Pendent ornament resembling a truncated cone under the soffits of the mutules and regulae of the Greek Doric Order. In Renaissance and later versions of Doric, guttae are often cylindrical, or like truncated pyramids. There are usually 18 under each mutule, set in three rows, and 6 under the regula, but the number may vary. In the Athenian Choragic Monument of Thrasyllus (319 bc) a continuous series of guttae was set above the architrave under the taenia, with no regulae at all: this was often revived in C19 during the Greek Revival, notably by Schinkel at Charlottenhof, Potsdam (1826), and the Neue Wache (New Guard House), Unter den Linden, Berlin (1816–18). Guttae are also called campanulae, drops, lachrymae, nails, or trunnels.

gutta

views updated Jun 27 2018

gutta (gut-ă) n. (pl. guttae) (in pharmacy) a drop. Drops are the form in which many medicines are applied to the eyes and ears.