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oriel (AWR-ee-uhl, OHR-ee-uhl) - n., a bay window projecting out from the wall, usually supported on corbels, cantilevers, or brackets.
Earlier, in medieval architecture, a large bay window of a hall or chamber, a gallery for minstrels, and/or small apartment adjacent to a hall that's used for dining. Can be polygonal or round in profile, in modern architecture. In use since the late 14th century, from Anglo-French oriol/orioll, porch/passage/gallery, from Old French oriol, hall/vestibule and/or Late Latin oriolum, portico/hall/porch, both of uncertain origin -- the two most common suggestions for the ultimate root are Latin aulaeum, curtain and Latin aureolus, gilded, and either way, the evolution of the senses are obscure.
---L.
Earlier, in medieval architecture, a large bay window of a hall or chamber, a gallery for minstrels, and/or small apartment adjacent to a hall that's used for dining. Can be polygonal or round in profile, in modern architecture. In use since the late 14th century, from Anglo-French oriol/orioll, porch/passage/gallery, from Old French oriol, hall/vestibule and/or Late Latin oriolum, portico/hall/porch, both of uncertain origin -- the two most common suggestions for the ultimate root are Latin aulaeum, curtain and Latin aureolus, gilded, and either way, the evolution of the senses are obscure.
---L.
