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wall
wall / wôl/ • n. a continuous vertical brick or stone structure that encloses or divides an area of land: a garden wall farmland traversed by drystone walls. ∎ a side of a building or room, typically forming part of the building's structure. ∎ any high vertical surface or facade, esp. one that is imposing in scale: the eastern wall of the valley | fig. a wall of sound. ∎ a thing perceived as a protective or restrictive barrier: a wall of silence. ∎ Soccer a line of defenders forming a barrier against a free kick taken near the penalty area. ∎ short for climbing wall. ∎ Mining the rock enclosing a lode or seam or forming the side of a mine-working. ∎ Anat. & Zool. the membranous outer layer or lining of an organ or cavity: the wall of the stomach. ∎ Biol. see cell wall. • v. [tr.] enclose (an area) within walls, esp. to protect it or lend it some privacy: housing areas that are walled off from the indigenous population. ∎ (wall something up) block or seal a place by building a wall around or across it: one doorway has been walled up. ∎ (wall someone/something in/up) confine or imprison someone or something in a restricted or sealed place: the gray tenements walled in the space completely. PHRASES: between you and me and the wallsee bedpost.drive someone up the wall inf. make someone very irritated or angry.go to the wall inf. 1. (of a business) fail; go out of business. 2. support someone or something, no matter what the cost to oneself: the tendency for poets to go to the wall for their beliefs. hit the wall (of an athlete) experience a sudden loss of energy in a long race.off the wall inf. 1. eccentric or unconventional. 2. (of a person) angry: the president was off the wall about the article. 3. (of an accusation) without basis or foundation. wall-to-wall (of a carpet or other floor covering) fitted to cover an entire floor. ∎ inf. denoting great extent or number: wall-to-wall customers. DERIVATIVES: wall-less adj. ORIGIN: Old English, from Latin vallum ‘rampart,’ from vallus ‘stake.’ |
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"wall." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "wall." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-wall.html "wall." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-wall.html |
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wall
wall in architecture, protective, enclosing, or dividing vertical structure. Its thickness is determined by the material, height, and stress. It may be of studding and lath, either boarded or plastered; adobe; rammed earth ; brickwork or stonework; concrete; tile; or of steel in combination with one or more of the preceding materials. The wall serves two functions. A bearing wall is used as a support, e.g., for the floors and roof. Usually raised on foundations, it is thicker at the bottom than at the top and is often buttressed. A nonbearing wall, such as a partition screen or curtain wall, is used to separate and define spaces and is generally much thinner. A party wall is one common to two adjoining buildings, and a gable wall is one at right angles to the roof ridge. A fire wall, or bulkhead, separates hazardous equipment from the rest of a structure to prevent the spreading of fire; in ships the bulkhead is also watertight. The front wall or face of a building is termed the facade . Exterior walls may be finished with stucco or graffito and enhanced by bas-relief, tile, mosaic, or painted decoration. Arcade, rustication, and vermiculated work are means of ornamenting brick and stone masonry. In engineering a retaining wall either of Cyclopean or of wet masonry protects an embankment from washing; a sea wall, or breakwater , is for harbor protection; and a dam is an earth, masonry, or concrete wall to stop the natural flow of a stream to conserve a water supply or create power. The defensive walls of a city or other political division (see Great Wall of China ) are frequently two or three concentric ramparts, often including fortification and watchtowers. Great portals form the gateways. Notable walls of antiquity were those of Thebes, Troy, Jericho, and Babylon; an example of a medieval wall is that at Carcassonne in France. |
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"wall." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "wall." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-wall.html "wall." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-wall.html |
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wall
wall. Structure of stone, brick, etc., serving to enclose a room, house, or other space, and, in most cases, load-bearing, i.e. supporting the floors, roof, etc. It may also be a screen-wall for privacy or enclosure. Types of wall include:cavity: with an air-gap between two leaves to improve insulation and prevent water-penetration; crinkle-crankle: See crinkle-crankle;hollow: as cavity above, but see brick;partition: wall dividing a space, not usually load-bearing;party: between adjoining properties, usually load-bearing and fire-resistant;retaining: prevents earth from slipping, so used in gardens and in excavations;springing: buttress;sustaining: load-bearing or retaining wall, unlike one serving merely as a partition or screen.
Bibliography W. McKay (1957) |
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Cite this article
JAMES STEVENS CURL. "wall." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JAMES STEVENS CURL. "wall." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-wall.html JAMES STEVENS CURL. "wall." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-wall.html |
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Wall
Wall, usually ‘(place at) the wall’, from OE wall: Wall Northum. Wal 1166. With reference to the Roman Wall. Wall Staffs. Walla 1167. With reference to the Roman town here.
However the following have a different origin: Wall, East & Wall under Heywood Shrops. Well 1200, Estwalle 1255, Walle sub Eywode 1235. ‘(Place at) the spring or stream’ from OE (Mercian) wælla. Affix means ‘within or near the enclosed wood’, OE hæg or hege + wudu. |
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A. D. MILLS. "Wall." A Dictionary of British Place-Names. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. A. D. MILLS. "Wall." A Dictionary of British Place-Names. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O40-Wall.html A. D. MILLS. "Wall." A Dictionary of British Place-Names. 2003. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O40-Wall.html |
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wall
wall rampart; defensive structure enclosing a town, etc.; lateral or vertical division of a building. OE. (Angl.) wall, (WS.) weall, corr. to OS., (M)LG., (M)Du. wal — L. vallum rampart, orig. palisading, f. vallus stake. Comp. wallflower plant of the genus Cheiranthus, which grows wild on old walls, etc. XVI.
Hence wall vb. XIII (OE. had ġeweallod walled). |
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T. F. HOAD. "wall." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "wall." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-wall.html T. F. HOAD. "wall." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-wall.html |
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wall
wall walls have ears proverbial saying, late 16th century; meaning that care should be taken for possible eavesdroppers. (Compare fields have eyes, and woods have ears at field.)
See also come up against a brick wall, Chinese wall, fly on the wall, Mirror, mirror on the wall at mirror, nail jelly to the wall, the weakest go to the wall, wooden walls. |
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "wall." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "wall." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-wall.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "wall." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-wall.html |
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Wall
Wallsomething that represents a wall in appearance. Examples: black wall of forest, 1859; wall of fog, 1903; of rock, 1860; of snow, 1697; of soldiers, 1797; of water, 1859. |
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"Wall." Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. 1985. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Wall." Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. 1985. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2505301705.html "Wall." Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. 1985. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2505301705.html |
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wall
wall
•all, appal (US appall), awl, Bacall, ball, bawl, befall, Bengal, brawl, call, caul, crawl, Donegal, drawl, drywall, enthral (US enthrall), fall, forestall, gall, Galle, Gaul, hall, haul, maul, miaul, miscall, Montreal, Naipaul, Nepal, orle, pall, Paul, pawl, Saul, schorl, scrawl, seawall, Senegal, shawl, small, sprawl, squall, stall, stonewall, tall, thrall, trawl, wall, waul, wherewithal, withal, yawl
•carryall • blackball • handball
•patball • hardball • netball • baseball
•paintball • speedball • heelball
•meatball • stickball • pinball • spitball
•racquetball • basketball • volleyball
•eyeball, highball
•oddball • softball • mothball
•korfball • cornball
•lowball, no-ball, snowball
•goalball
•cueball, screwball
•goofball • stoolball • football
•puffball • punchball • fireball
•rollerball • cannonball • butterball
•catchall • bradawl • holdall • Goodall
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Cite this article
"wall." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "wall." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-wall.html "wall." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-wall.html |
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