Weights, ancient.. Well-diggers' memoranda.. Wind, force of the.. Window-glass..... Wire gauges, American and Birmingham, Browne and Sharpe.. Wooden beams, strength of. 66 columns.. Woods, hardness of. 34 626 725 522 €92 .623, 673 476 371 244 718 GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS, ANCIENT AND MODERN, USED BY ARCHITECTS, BUILDERS, AND DRAUGHTSMEN. (Compiled by the author from various sources.) Aaron's-Rod. An ornamental figure representing a rod with a serpent twined about it. It is sometimes confounded with the caduceus of Mercury. The distinction between the caduceus and the Aaron's-rod is that the former has two serpents twined in opposite directions, while the latter has but one. Abacus.-The upper member of the capital of a column. It is sometimes square and sometimes curved, forming on the plan segments of a circle called the arch of the abacus, and is commonly decorated with a rose or other ornament in the centre, having the angles, called horns of the abacus, cut off in the direction of the radius or curve, In the Tuscan or Doric, it is a square tablet; in the Ionic, the edges are moulded; in the Corinthian, its sides are concave and frequently enriched with carving. In Gothic pillars it has a great variety of forms. GRECIAN DORIC ROMAN DORIC CORINTHIAN DORIC ABACUS. Abbey. A term for the church and other buildings used by conventual bodies presided over by an abbot or abbess, in contradistinction to cathedral, which is presided over by a bishop; and priory, the head of which was a prior or prioress. Abutment. That part of a pier from which the arch springs. Abuttals.-The boundings of a piece of land on other land, street, river, etc. Acanthus.-A plant found in the south of Europe, representations of whose leaves are employed for decorating the Corinthian and Composite capitals. The leaves of the acanthus are used on the bell of the capital, and distinguish the two rich orders from the three others. Acroteria. The small pedestals placed on the extremities and apex of a pediment. They are usually without bases or plinths, and were originally intended to receive statues. ACANTHUS. Aile, Aisle. The wings; inward side porticos of a church; the inward lateral corridors which enclose the choir, the presbytery, and the body of the church along its sides. 2. Any one of the passages in a church or hall into which the pews or seats open. Alcove. The original and strict meaning of this word, which is derived from the Spanish alcoba, is confined to that part of a bed-chamber in which the bed stands, separated from the other parts of the room by columns or pilasters. It is now commonly used to express any large recess in a room, generally separated by an arch. Alipterion. In ancient Roman architecture, a room used by bathers for anointing themselves. 1 |