Gablet

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A small, often decorative gable found at the top of a building or roof; a short pitched roof section that projects outward as part of architectural design; an ornamental triangular structure capping a window or door opening
2. A minor triangular roof end that protrudes from the main roof line; an architectural element resembling a miniature gable used for aesthetic purposes; a small apex structure crowning a wall or façade portion
3. A compact pointed roof segment typically seen on top of dormers or building fronts; a scaled-down version of a gable serving as a decorative or structural feature; a tiny triangular upper wall section framing part of a roofline or window

Etymology: Gablet is a diminutive built from "gable" plus a small-size suffix. A gable is the triangular upper part of a wall at the end of a pitched roof, so a gablet is, in effect, a little gable: a small pointed roof or canopy, most often seen as an ornament rather than a structure in its own right. The suffix does most of the work here. "-let" and "-et" both add the sense of "little," as in "booklet" or "cygnet" (a young swan). The source offers either ending as the origin, so the word is best understood as a transparent formation: take a familiar architectural term and shrink it. Medieval and later builders applied the idea to the miniature pinnacles and canopies that crown niches, tombs and tabernacles, where a small triangular gable sits above a figure or panel.

Synonyms: small gable, architectural feature