corbel

[ kawr-buhl ]

noun

1. any bracket, especially one of brick or stone, usually of slight extent.
2. a short horizontal timber supporting a girder.

verb (used with object)

, cor·beled, cor·bel·ing or (especially British) cor·belled, cor·bel·ling.

1. to set (bricks, stones, etc.) so as to form a corbel or corbels (usually followed by out ).
2. to support by means of a corbel or corbels.

corbel

/ ˈkɔːbəl /

noun

1. Also calledtruss a bracket, usually of stone or brick

verb

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of corbel¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of corbel¹

C15: from Old French, literally: a little raven, from Medieval Latin corvellus, from Latin corvus raven

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