dado

[ dey-doh ]

noun,plural da·does, da·dos.
  1. Also called die. Architecture. the part of a pedestal between the base and the cornice or cap.

  2. the lower broad part of an interior wall finished in wallpaper, a fabric, paint, etc.

  1. Carpentry. a groove or rectangular section for receiving the end of a board.

verb (used with object)
  1. to provide with a dado.

Verb Phrases
  1. dado in, to insert (a board or the like) into a dado.

Origin of dado

1
1655–65; <Italian: die, cube, pedestal, perhaps <Arabic dad game

Words Nearby dado

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use dado in a sentence

  • He decorated the gallery: delicate rose on the walls, white dado, white chairs, and pale azaleas in rose-flushed jars.

    The Life of James McNeill Whistler | Elizabeth Robins Pennell
  • Whistler decorated the room in Brown and Gold, choosing the brown paper for the walls, designing the mouldings of the dado.

    The Life of James McNeill Whistler | Elizabeth Robins Pennell

British Dictionary definitions for dado

dado

/ (ˈdeɪdəʊ) /


nounplural -does or -dos
  1. the lower part of an interior wall that is decorated differently from the upper part

  2. architect the part of a pedestal between the base and the cornice

verb
  1. (tr) to provide with a dado

Origin of dado

1
C17: from Italian: die, die-shaped pedestal, perhaps from Arabic dad game

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012