DICT.TW Dictionary Taiwan
O·ri·el n. [Formerly written also oriol, oryal, oryall.]
1. A gallery for minstrels. [Obs.]
2. A small apartment next a hall, where certain persons were accustomed to dine; a sort of recess. [Obs.]
3. Arch. A bay window. See Bay window.
The beams that thro' the oriel shine
Make prisms in every carven glass. --Tennyson.
Note: ☞ There is no generally admitted difference between a bay window and an oriel. In the United States the latter name is often applied to bay windows which are small, and either polygonal or round; also, to such as are corbeled out from the wall instead of resting on the ground.
◄ ►