pediment
|ped-i-ment|
🇺🇸
/ˈpɛdəmənt/
🇬🇧
/ˈpɛdɪmənt/
triangular crowning element
Etymology
'pediment' originates from Italian, specifically the word 'pedimento', where the element 'ped-' is associated with Latin 'pes' meaning 'foot' or 'base'.
'pediment' changed from the Italian word 'pedimento' (and later French 'pédiment') and eventually became the modern English word 'pediment'.
Initially related to a notion of 'base' or 'footing' in older usage, but over time the term came to denote the triangular crowning feature of classical architecture and was later extended to describe a similar sloping surface in geology.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
in classical architecture, a triangular gable found above the horizontal structure (entablature), typically supported by columns and often filled with sculptural decoration (the recessed area is the tympanum).
The pediment above the entrance was decorated with mythological reliefs.
Synonyms
Noun 2
a projecting decorative feature above a door, window, or niche, often derived from or resembling the classical triangular pediment.
A small pediment crowns the doorway of the old townhouse.
Synonyms
Noun 3
in geology, a gently sloping bedrock surface at the base of a retreating mountain front, produced by erosion and forming a protective apron (a pediplain's component).
Geologists identified an extensive pediment stretching from the mountain base into the basin.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2026/01/07 05:43