Corbels

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of bracket or support projecting from a wall, often used to hold up a shelf or a structural feature
2. Architectural elements that project from a wall to support a feature above, commonly seen in buildings
3. Bracket-like supports attached to walls to bear weight, typically found in various constructions and decorative settings

Etymology: "Corbels" is the plural of "corbel," and the singular word traces back to a bird. Its ancestor is the Latin "corvus," meaning raven, and the diminutive "corbellus" (later "corvellus" in Late Latin) was used for the projecting block that juts from a wall to carry a weight. The name comes from the shape's resemblance to a crow's beak, so an architectural support was named after the bird's bill. The word passed into Old French as "corbel," then into Middle English in the same form. It is a doublet of "corbeau," the French word for raven or crow, so the two modern words are sister forms of one Latin root that split into a bird name and a building term.

Synonyms: brackets, supports