Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Oriel
O′ri-el
,Noun.
[OF.
oriol
gallery, corridor, LL. oriolum
portico, hall, prob. fr. L. aureolus
gilded, applied to an apartment decorated with gilding. See Oriole
.] [Formerly written also
oriol
, oryal
, oryall
.] 1.
A gallery for minstrels.
[Obs.]
W. Hamper.
2.
A small apartment next a hall, where certain persons were accustomed to dine; a sort of recess.
[Obs.]
Cowell.
3.
(Arch.)
A bay window. See
Bay window
. The beams that thro’ the
Make prisms in every carven glass.
oriel
shineMake prisms in every carven glass.
Tennyson.
☞ There is no generally admitted difference between a bay window and an oriel. In the United States the latter name is often applied to bay windows which are small, and either polygonal or round; also, to such as are corbeled out from the wall instead of resting on the ground.
Webster 1828 Edition
Oriel
O'RIEL
,Definition 2024
oriel
oriel
English
oriel window (sense 1)
Noun
oriel (plural oriels)
- (architecture) A large polygonal recess in a building, such as a bay window.
- Tennyson
- The beams that thro' the oriel shine / Make prisms in every carven glass.
- Tennyson
- (obsolete) A gallery for minstrels.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of W. Hamper to this entry?)
- (obsolete) A small apartment next to a hall, used for dining.
Usage notes
- There is no generally accepted difference between a bay window and an oriel. In the United States, the latter name is often applied to bay windows which are small, and either polygonal or round, and to those that are corbelled out from the wall instead of resting on the ground.