|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
pediment
pediment. Low-pitched triangular gable following the roof-slopes over a portico or façade in Classical architecture, formed with raked cornices of the same section as that of the horizontal entablature at its base and mitring with it in part. Doric examples often omit the mutules under the sloping cornices. The triangular tympanum framed by the raking and horizontal cornices was the field left plain or embellished with sculpture in high relief. Greek or Greek Revival pediments were lower in pitch than Roman examples. Pediments may crown subordinate features such as door-ways, niches, windows, etc., and in such cases are termed fronton. The triangular pediment is the most usual, but the segmental pediment was evolved in Antique Roman architecture in ad C1, and found on buildings connected with the worship of Isis, a goddess associated with the crescent-moon. Types of pediment include:broken: with gap in the middle of the lower horizontal cornice and with raking cornices stopping before they can meet, so having no apex; broken-apex: with raking sides too short to meet at the apex, also called open or open-topped; broken-base: with the horizontal base lacking a middle section, also called open-bed, often occurring in C18 door-cases with fanlights breaking upwards into the lower cornice; scrolled: open-topped segmental pediment with segmental tops curling inwards as scrolls, or with the tops in the form of two ogees ending in scrolls, called bonnet-scroll, goose-neck, or swan-neck.
Bibliography J. Curl (2001, 2002a) |
|
|
Cite this article
JAMES STEVENS CURL. "pediment." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JAMES STEVENS CURL. "pediment." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-pediment.html JAMES STEVENS CURL. "pediment." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-pediment.html |
|
pediment
pediment in architecture, the triangular gable end on a building of classic type or a similar form used decoratively. It consists of the tympanum , or triangular wall surface, enclosed below by the horizontal cornice and above by the raking cornice, which follows the slope of the roof. In Greek architecture the pediment usually contained sculpture when used with the Doric order. In the Roman and Renaissance styles it was used also as a purely decorative motif, chiefly over doors and windows; the upper profile of the pediment was sometimes of segmental shape. In later Renaissance and baroque design the pediment often took on fantastic shapes, notably in the variants of the broken pediment, in which the two sides of the raking cornice do not join. The scrolled broken pediment was a favorite in American Colonial work, especially in doorways and over mantels. |
|
|
Cite this article
"pediment." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "pediment." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-pediment.html "pediment." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-pediment.html |
|
pediment
ped·i·ment
/ ˈpedəmənt/
•
n.
the triangular upper part of the front of a building in classical style, typically surmounting a portico of columns.
∎
a similar feature surmounting a door, window, front, or other part of a building in another style.
∎
Geol.
a broad, gently sloping expanse of rock debris extending outward from the foot of a mountain slope, esp. in a desert.
DERIVATIVES:
ped·i·men·tal
/ ˌpedəˈmentl/ adj.
ped·i·ment·ed adj.
pediment |
|
|
Cite this article
"pediment." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "pediment." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-pediment.html "pediment." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-pediment.html |
|
pediment
pediment(concave slope, waning slope) A surface of low relief, partly covered by a skin of rock debris, which is concave-upward and slopes at a low angle (normally less than 5°) from the base of a mountain zone or scarp. Classically it is developed and has been investigated in the arid and semi-arid regions of the western USA. Pediments may coalesce to form a pediplain.
|
|
|
Cite this article
MICHAEL ALLABY. "pediment." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL ALLABY. "pediment." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O14-pediment.html MICHAEL ALLABY. "pediment." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O14-pediment.html |
|
pediment
pediment (concave slope, waning slope) Surface of low relief, partly covered by a skin of rock debris, that is concave-upward and slopes at a low angle (normally less than 5°) from the base of a mountain zone or scarp. Classically it is developed and has been investigated in the arid and semi-arid regions of the western USA.
|
|
|
Cite this article
AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "pediment." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "pediment." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-pediment.html AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "pediment." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-pediment.html |
|
pediment
pediment
A. triangular gable-like part crowning a façade XVII; B. base, foundation XVIII. Earlier pedament, pedement, refash. of periment (XVI), prob. deformation of PYRAMID. Sense B is due to direct assoc. with L. pēs, ped- -FOOT and -MENT, and the present form simulates derivation from these elements. |
|
|
Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "pediment." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "pediment." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-pediment.html T. F. HOAD. "pediment." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-pediment.html |
|
pediment
pediment Low-pitched gable formed by the sloping eaves of a pitched roof and a horizontal cornice. The classic triangular pediment appeared in Greek temples such as the Parthenon. Later architects developed more extravagant forms, featuring curved, broken and inverted styles over doors and windows.
|
|
|
Cite this article
"pediment." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "pediment." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-pediment.html "pediment." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-pediment.html |
|
|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries:
HighBeam™ Research, Inc. © Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
The Encyclopedia.com advertising network includes:
