noun Architecture.
a small arch, corbeling, or the like, built across the interior angle between two walls, as in a square tower for supporting the side of a superimposed octagonal spire.
Origin:
1490–1500; variant of scunch, short for scuncheon, Middle English sconch(e)on < Middle French escoinson, esconchon; see sconcheon
1490–1500; variant of scunch, short for scuncheon, Middle English sconch(e)on < Middle French escoinson, esconchon; see sconcheon
Dictionary.com Unabridged
verb (used with object)
1.
to contort (the features) or squint.
2.
to squeeze together or contract.
verb (used without object)
3.
to squeeze together or crouch down, as to fit into a smaller space.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To squinch
00:10
Squinch
is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
squinch (skwɪntʃ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| Also called: squinch arch a small arch, corbelling, etc, across an internal corner of a tower, used to support a superstructure such as a spire | |
| [C15: from obsolete scunch, from Middle English sconcheon, from Old French escoinson, from es- | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia
squinch
in architecture, any of several devices by which a square or polygonal room has its upper corners filled in to form a support for a dome: by corbelling out the courses of masonry, each course projecting slightly beyond the one below; by building one or more arches diagonally across the corner; by building in the corner a niche with a half dome at its head; or by filling the corner with a little conical vault that has an arch on its outer diagonal face and its apex in the corner
Learn more about squinch with a free trial on Britannica.com.
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
Related Searches
Nearby Words
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
