corbel

American  

[kawr-buhl] / ˈkɔr bəl /

noun

1. any bracket, especially one of brick or stone, usually of slight extent.

2. a short horizontal timber supporting a girder.

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verb (used with object)

corbeled, corbeling corbelled, corbelling

1. to set (bricks, stones, etc.) so as to form a corbel or corbels (usually followed byout ).

2. to support by means of a corbel or corbels.

corbel British  

/ ˈkɔːbəl /

noun

1. Also called: truss.  a bracket, usually of stone or brick

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verb

1. (tr) to lay (a stone or brick) so that it forms a corbel

Etymology

Origin of corbel

1375–1425; late Middle English < Middle French < Medieval Latin corvellus, equivalent to Latin corv ( us ) raven ¹ + -ellus diminutive suffix

Example Sentences

The door of 10 Downing Street was copied from the original and is enclosed within a composite fibreglass painted architrave "flanked by scrolled acanthus leaf corbels" and surrounded by black-painted iron railings.

From BBC

Longstaffe-Gowan also installed sculptures from Morgan’s collection, including a Roman sarcophagus, a Roman funerary stele and two Renaissance corbels, in the garden.

From New York Times

Though it needed considerable love, he knew, largely thanks to an original marble fireplace with neo-Classical corbel detailing and an unusual wrought-iron spiral staircase, that it was where he wanted to be.

From New York Times

At 11 inches tall, the classic creature can serve as an indoor wall corbel or bookend.

From Seattle Times

“Aggressive excavation of concrete at the severely deteriorated pool corbel could affect the stability of the remaining adjacent concrete construction,” Morabito and his colleagues wrote.

From Washington Post