Glossary of Terms  

addition - A new part on an existing building or structure. 
alteration - A visible change to the exterior of a building or structure. 
anchor - A metal clamp, often of fanciful design, (such as a star) fastened on the outside of a wall to the end of a tie rod connecting with an opposite wall, to prevent bulging. 
American Foursquare - One of the few indigenous American styles. It is a variant of what has come to be called the Prairie School of architecture and is representative of the early work of Frank Lloyd Wright. 
annex - A subsidiary structure near or adjoining a larger main building. 
apex - The highest point, peak, or tip of any structure. 
arch - A curved or pointed construction which spans an opening. 
arch - A curved or pointed construction which spans an opening. 
architectural - Pertaining to architecture, its features, characteristics, or details. 
architecture - The art and science of designing and building structures in keeping with aesthetic and functional criteria. 
architrave - The lowest member of an entablature; the beam 
that spans from column to column. 
armory - A building used for storage of military equipment. A weapons manufacturing plant. 
Art Deco - A decorative style widely used in the architecture of the 1930s; characterized by sharp angular or zigzag surface forms and ornaments. 
attic - A story built above the wall cornice. 
awning - A rooflike shelter of canvas or other material extending over a doorway or window. 

balcony - A projecting platform, sometimes supported from below, sometimes cantilevered, enclosed with a railing or balustrade. 
balloon frame - Wooden building framing where all vertical structural elements of the exterior bearing walls consist of single studs which extend the full height of the frame. 
baluster - One of a number of short vertical members, often circular in section, used to support a railing. 
balustrade - An entire railing system (as along the edge of a balcony) including a top rail and its balusters, and sometimes a bottom rail. 
bargeboard - The decorative board along the roof edge of a gable that conceals the rafters. 
basement - Usually the lowest story of a building, either partly or entirely below grade. 
basket weave - A checkerboard pattern of bricks. 
batten - A narrow strip of wood applied to cover a joint along the edges of two parallel boards (as in board and batten). 
bay - A vertical division of a building marked by fenestration or other architectural features. 
bay window - A window that projects from an exterior wall. 
bead - A molding used in ornamenting a given surface. 
beam - A structural member whose prime function is to carry transverse loads, as a joist, girder, rafter, or purlin. 
bearing wall - A supporting part of a structure. 
Beaux Arts architecture - Historical and eclectic design on a monumental scale, as taught at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, in the nineteenth century. 
belfry - A room at or near the top of a tower which contains bells and their supporting timbers. 
belt course - See string course. 
blank wall, blind wall, dead wall - A wall whose whole surface is unbroken by a window, door, or other opening. 
blank window, blind window, false window - A recess in an external wall, having the external appearance of a window, to give symmetry. 
blind - See shutter. 
board and batten - Vertical siding on a structure that has narrow strips covering the vertical joints between the boards. 
bond - An arrangement of masonry units (such as bricks) to provide strength, stability, and beauty. 
brace - A metal or wood member which is used to stiffen or support a structure. 
bracket - A decorative support beneath a projecting floor, window, or cornice. 
brick - A solid or hollow masonry unit of clay or shale, molded into a rectangular shape and then fired in a kiln. 
brick nogging - Brick-work laid in the spaces between timbers in a wood frame partition. 
broken pediment - A decorative element - usually over a door or a window - in which the sloping sides do not meet, creating an opening that contains a decorative feature. 
bulkhead - The structural supporting wall under the display windows of a storefront. 
Bungalow - A type of dwelling that originated in British India but became popular world-wide, often as worker housing, because it was economical to build. 
buttress - An exterior mass of masonry set at an angle to a wall to provide strength and support. 
 
 

canopy - A covered area which extends from the wall of a building to protect an entrance. 
cantilever - A structural member which projects beyond its 
supporting wall or column. 
capital - The upper portion of a column or pilaster. 
Carpenter Gothic - The application of Gothic motifs by artisan builders in wood, during the nineteenth century. 
cased-in timber - Finished millwork which covers or encases a structural member such as a porch post. 
casement window - A window which swings open along its entire length. 
cast iron - Iron that is formed by pouring the molten metal into a mold and letting it cool. 
caulk - Material used to fill or close seams and crevices in order to make them watertight. 
clapboards - A wood siding commonly used as an exterior covering on a wood frame building. It is applied horizontally and overlapped, with the grain running lengthwise. 
chimney - The vertical structure containing a passage or flue, which carries smoke and gases from a fire or furnace by means of a created draft. 
chimney pot -An earthenware or metal pipe fitted on top of a chimney to increase draft and reduce or disperse smoke. 
Classical architecture - The architecture of Hellenic Greece and Imperial Rome, upon which the Italian Renaissance and subsequent styles such as the Classic Revival based their development. 
Classic Revival - An architectural movement based on the use of Roman and Greek forms. 
Colonial architecture - Architecture transplanted from homelands to overseas colonies, such as English Georgian architecture of the eighteenth century in Virginia. 
Colonial Revival - The reuse of Georgian and Colonial design, toward the end of the nineteenth and into the twentieth century. Typically found in banks, churches, and suburban homes. 
column - A vertical member, such as a post or a pillar, which supports a load. 
Common bond, American bond - A bond in which every fifth or sixth brick course consists of headers, the other courses being stretchers. Widely used because such brickwork can be laid quickly. 
coping - A protective cap, top, or cover of a wall, parapet, or chimney; often of stone, terra-cotta, concrete, or metal. Protects the masonry below from the penetration of water from above. 
corbeling - Courses of masonry that project out in a series of steps from the wall, often part of the cornice at the top of a facade. 
corner board - A board used as trim on the external corner of a wood frame structure and against which the ends of the siding are fitted. 
cornice - The exterior trim of a structure where the roof meets the wall. 
course - A layer of masonry units (such as bricks) running horizontally in a wall and bonded with mortar. 
cresting - A decorative ridge on a roof, usually constructed of ornamental metal. 
crossbeam - Any transverse beam in a structure, such as a joist. 
cupola - A small structure built on top of a roof or building. 
 
 

dentil - One of a band of small, square blocks forming part of a cornice. 
dependency - A subsidiary building near or adjoining a principal structure. 
dome - A curved roof structure; often hemisphirical in shape. 
door - An entranceway. A barrier which swings, slides, tilts, or folds to close an opening. 
door header - The uppermost member of a door frame. 
door jamb - The vertical member on each side of a door (also called the doorpost). 
door sill - The horizontal member, usually a board, covering the floor joint on the threshold of a door. 
dormer - A structure projecting from a sloping roof, usually housing a window or a vent. 
dormer window - A vertical window which projects from a sloping roof, placed in a small gable. 
double window - Two windows, side by side, which form a single architectural unit. 
downspout, leader - A vertical pipe used to conduct water from the roof to the ground. 
dressed lumber - Lumber having one or more of its faces planed smooth. 
dressed stone - Stone that has been worked to a shape; the faces to be exposed are smooth. 
drip cap - A horizontal molding, fixed to a door or window frame, to divert water from the top rail, causing it to drip beyond the outside of the frame. 
Dutch Colonial architecture - The building style prevalent in the Dutch-settled parts of the North American colonies in the seventeenth century, particularly in New York and the Hudson Valley. 

eaves - The lower edge of a sloping roof; that part of a roof which projects beyond the wall. 
elevation - A drawing showing the elements of a building in plane. 
English basement - A basement whose windows are above ground (as opposed to being sunken). 
English bond - Brickwork with alternate courses of headers and stretchers. 
Entablature - 1. The elaborated beam member carried by columns horizontally divided into architrave (below), the frieze, and cornice (above). 2. The upper section of a wall, generally supported on columns or pilasters. On storefronts, the entablature is often used to display signs. 
extension - A wing or structure added to an existing building. 
eyebrow - A low dormer on the slope of a roof. It has no sides and the roofing is carried over it. 
eyebrow window - 1. A bottom-hinged, inward-opening sash in the uppermost level of a Greek Revival house, or the like. 2. A window in an eyebrow. 

fabric - The basic elements of a building. 
facade - The exterior face of a building which constitutes the architectural front. 
fanlight - A semi-circular window over the opening of a door, with radiating muntins in the form of an open fan. 
fascia - A flat horizontal member or molding with little projection, commonly under eaves and cornices. 
Federal style - The Classical Revival style of architecture that emerged in the United States at the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century. 
fence - A barrier enclosing or bordering a yard. 
fenestration - The arrangement of the openings in a building. 
finial - An ornament which terminates the point of a gable or spire. 
flashing - Pieces of sheet metal used to weatherproof joints and angles, as where a roof comes in contact with  a wall or chimney. 
flat arch, jack arch, straight arch - An arch that is horizontal or nearly horizontal. 
Flemish bond - Brickwork in which each course consists of headers and stretchers laid alternately; each header is centered with respect to the stretchers above and below it. 
Flemish diagonal bond - A bond in which a course of alternate headers and stretchers is followed by a course of stretchers, resulting in a diagonal pattern. The old Maury School exhibits both Flemish and Flemish diagonal bonds. 
flue, chimney flue - An incombustible and heat-resistant passage in a chimney to carry away combustion products from a fireplace, furnace, or boiler. 
flute - A groove or channel, usually one of many such parallel grooves, used decoratively, as along the shaft of a column. 
flying buttress - A characteristic feature of Gothic construction in which the lateral thrust of a roof is taken up by a bar of masonry, carried on an arch, and a solid pier or buttress. 
footprint - The extent of a building's impression in the earth. 
form - The particular shape of a building. 
foundation - The supporting member of a wall or structure. 
frame house - A house of wood frame construction, usually sheathed and covered with a siding material. 
framing - A system of structural woodwork. 
frieze - The middle horizontal member of a entablature, above the architrave and below the cornice. 

gable - The vertical triangular portion of the end of a building having a double-sloping roof, from the cornice or eaves to the ridge of the roof. 
gable roof - A roof having a gable at one or both ends. 
gambrel roof - A roof which has two pitches on each side (frequently found in barns). 
garland - An ornament in the form of a band or wreath of leaves, fruits, or flowers. 
Georgian architecture - The prevailing style of the eighteenth century in Great Britian and the North American colonies, so named after George I, George II, and George III (1714-1820). 
gingerbread - The highly decorative woodwork applied to Queen Anne style houses, or the like. 
girder - A large or principal beam used to support concentrated loads at isolated points along its length. 
glazing - Another term for glass or other transparent material used in windows. 
Gothic architecture - The architectural style of the Middle Ages in Western Europe. 
Gothic Revival - A movement originating in the eighteenth 
century and culminating in the nineteenth century which aimed at reviving the spirit and forms of Gothic architecture. 
Greek Revival - See Classic Revival. 
groundsill, ground beam, ground plate, mudsill, sole plate - In a framed structure, the sill which is nearest the ground or on the ground; used to distribute concentrated loads. 
gutter - A shallow channel of metal set below and along the eaves to catch and carry rainwater from the roof. 

half-timber framing - A form of construction where the spaces between a heavy timber framework are filled with bricks or plaster. 
hanging post, gatepost, hinge post, swinging post - The post on which a gate is hung. 
header - 1. A masonry unit (such as a brick), laid so its ends are exposed. 2. A framing member which crosses an opening such as a door or window and supports the ends of joists, rafters, etc., transferring their weight to parallel joists, rafters, etc. 
herringbone pattern - A diagonal zigzag pattern of bricks. 
hip - The external angle at the junction of two sloping roofs. 
hipped end - The sloping triangularly shaped end of a hipped roof. 
hipped gable - see jerkinhead. 
hip roof, hipped roof - A roof which slopes upward from all four sides of a building. 
hood - A cover placed above an opening to shelter it. 
hood molding - Projecting molding over a door or window. 

infill - A new structure built in a block of existing buildings. 
internal dormer - A vertical window in a sloped roof; it is not covered by a small pitched roof, but is set down from the slope of the main roof. 
International style - The functional architecture devoid of regional characteristics. Created in Western Europe and in the United States during the early twentieth century. 
ironwork - Wrought or cast iron; usually decorative and often elaborate. 
Italianate style - The eclectic form of country-house design, fashionable in England and the United States in the 1840s and 1850s, characterized by low-pitched, heavily bracketed roofs, asymmetrical informal plan, square towers, and often round-arched windows. 

jack arch - See flat arch. 
jamb - A vertical member at each side of a door or window frame. 
jerkinhead, clipped gable, hipped gable - The end of a roof when it is formed into a shape between a gable and a hip. 
joist - One of a series of parallel timber beams used to support floor and ceiling loads; supported in turn by larger beams, girders, or bearing walls. 
 
 

keystone - The central block of a masonry arch.  Until the keystone is in place, the arch is not truly functional. 
king post - In a truss, as for a roof, a vertical member extending from the apex to the tie beam. 
 
 
 
 

lancet, lancet window - A narrow window with a sharp pointed arch; much used in Gothic architecture. 
landmark - Any building, structure, or place which has a special character or a special historical or aesthetic interest or value to a community. 
lattice - A network, often diagonal, of narrow thin strips of wood or iron, used as screening. 
lean-to - A small extension to a building with a roof (of a single slope) whose supports lean against the building. 
light - 1. An aperture through which daylight is admitted to a building's interior. 2. A pane of glass. 
lintel - A horizontal structural member over an opening, which carries the weight of the wall above it. 
loft - Unceilinged space beneath a roof. 
louver - An assembly of sloping, overlapping slats (fixed or 
adjustable) designed to admit air or light in varying degrees while excluding rain and snow. 

mansard roof - A roof having a double slope, similar to a gambrel roof, but where the lower slope is longer and steeper than the upper slope. 
marquee - A fixed metal and glass canopy over an entrance to a building. 
massing - The bulk or size of a building. 
modillion - A horizontal bracket, usually in the form of a scroll, that helps support a cornice. 
molded brick - A specially shaped brick, usually for decorative work. 
molding - A member of construction or decoration that introduces a variety of outlines or contours in edges or surfaces. Found on cornices, bases, and door and window jambs. 
mortar - The mixture of lime or cement or a combination of both with sand and water, used as a masonry bonding agent. 
mortar joints - The finished mortar surface between masonry units. 
motif - A principal repeated element in an ornamental design. 
mud room - A small entryway where muddy footwear may be removed. 
mudsill - A sill usually laid directly on the ground. 
mullion - A vertical member separating (and often supporting) windows, doors, or panels set in a series. 
muntin - A secondary framing member to hold panes of glass within a window or glazed door. 

Neo-Classical style - The dominant style of architecture during the first half of the twentieth century.  Closely related to Colonial Revival but much more ornate in many of its details. 
nogging - The filling of brick-work between timbers of a frame wall. 

open pediment - See broken pediment. 
order - In classical architecture, a particular style of column with its entablature having standardized details. The Greek orders were Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. 
ordinary - A tavern, in early American communities. 
orientation - The placement of a structure on a site with regard to local conditions of sunlight, wind, drainage, and street frontage. 
ornament - In architecture, every detail of shape, texture, and color that is deliberately used or added to attract the attention of an observer. 
overhang - The projection of an upper story or roof beyond a story immediately below. 

Palladian motif - A door or window opening in three parts, divided by posts, with a lintel flat over each side, but arched over the center. 
pane - A framed sheet of glass in a window or door. 
panel - A portion of a flat surface that is recessed below the 
surrounding area, sometimes set off by molding or other decorative device. 
parapet - In an exterior wall, the part entirely above the roof. 
patina - A thin oxide film which forms on a metal. 
pavilion - On a facade, a prominent portion usually central or terminal, identified by projection, height, or special roof forms. 
pediment - The triangular gable end of a roof. 
pendant - A suspended feature or hanging ornament. 
pier - A column designed to support concentrated loads. 
pilaster - A decorative feature that imitates a pier or a pillar but is not a supporting member, often used as a simulated pillar on porches in entrances. 
pitch - The degree of slope of a roof. 
plate - In wood-frame construction, timber laid horizontally in a wall, on top of a wall, or on the ground to receive other timbers or joists. 
pointing - In masonry, the final treatment of joints by the troweling of mortar into them. 
porch - A structure attached to a building to shelter an entrance or to serve as a semi-enclosed space; usually roofed and generally open sided. 
portico - A small porch forming the entrance and centerpiece of a facade; usually consisting of a pedimented roof supported by columns. 
preservation - Maintenance of the existing form, integrity, and material of a building or structure. 
purlin - Timber laid horizontally to support the rafters on which a roof covering is laid. 

Queen Anne style - Eclectic style of domestic architecture of the 1870s and 1880s in England and the United States; misnamed after Queen Anne, but actually based on country-house and cottage Elizabethan architecture. 
quoin - In masonry, the stones which form the external corner of a building; sometimes distinguished decoratively from the adjacent masonry. In Fredericksburg, some brick buildings have sandstone or granite quoins. 

rafter - One of a series of inclined members to which a roof covering is fixed. 
rain leader - See downspout. 
raking - Slope, as in a roof pitch. 
rehabilitation - The process of restoring a building to a usable condition. 
rendering - A perspective or elevational drawing of a project with artistic delineation of materials, shades, and shadows. 
replication - A copy or reproduction of an original feature. 
repoint -To remove deteriorated mortar and replace it with new mortar. 
restoration - The process of returning a building to its original form and condition by removing later work and/or replacing missing earlier work. 
retaining wall - A wall that bears against the earth and resists its lateral movement. 
retrofit - To fit a building with parts or equipment not available at the time of original construction. 
Revival architecture - The use of older styles in new architectural movements, such as Gothic Revival, Greek Revival, Colonial Revival, etc. 
ridge - The horizontal line at the junction of the upper edges of two sloping roof surfaces. 
riprap - An arrangement of irregularly broken and random sized stones thrown together without any attempt at regular structural arrangement. 
riser - The vertical face of a stair step. 
Romanesque Revival - The reuse in the nineteenth century of the massive Romanesque style of construction characterized by heavy arches and dramatic asymmetrical effects. 
roof - The cover of a building, including the roofing and all other materials necessary to carry and maintain it on the walls or uprights. 
row house - One of an unbroken line of houses sharing one or more sidewalls with its neighbors. 
rustic joint - In stone masonry, a deeply sunk mortar joint that has been emphasized by having the edges of the adjacent stones chamfered or recessed below the surface of the stone facing. 

saltbox - A wood-framed house, more common to colonial New England than to Virginia, which has a short roof pitch in front and a long roof pitch sweeping close to the ground, in back. 
sash, window sash - Any framework of a window; may be movable or fixed; may slide in a vertical plane (as in a double-hung window) or pivot (as in a casement window). In describing window configuration, it is common to refer to the number of panes in the upper and lower halves of the sash (i.e. six-over-six, three-over-one, nine-over-nine, etc.) 
scale - Relative or proportionate size. 
screen - Any construction whose essential function is merely to separate, protect, seclude, or conceal, but not to support. 
scupper - An opening in a wall or parapet that allows water to drain from a roof. 
Second Empire style - A stylistic designation named after the French Second Empire of Napoleon III (1852-1870), but referring to grand eclectic architecture in the 1860s and early 1870s. 
setback - The interval between a building and a property line. 
shake - Any thick hand-split shingle or clapboard, usually edge-grained; formed by splitting a short log into tapered radial sections. 
sheathing - The covering placed over the exterior framing of a building; provides a base for the application of wall or roof covering. 
shed dormer - A dormer window whose eave line is parallel to the eave line of the main roof instead of being gabled. 
shed roof - A roof shape having only one sloping plane. 
shingle - A roofing unit of wood, asphaltic or fiberglass material, slate, tile, concrete, asbestos cement, or other material cut to stock sizes; used as an exterior covering on sloping roofs and side walls; applied in an overlapping fashion. 
shutters - Solid or louvered movable window coverings. 
sidelight - A framed area of fixed glass alongside a door or window opening. 
siding, weatherboards - The finish covering of an exterior wall of a frame building. 
sill - 1. A horizontal timber, at the bottom of a wood frame, which rests on the foundation. 2. The horizontal bottom member of a door or window frame. 
skirt-roof - A false roof between stories of a building. 
skylight - An opening in a roof or ceiling, fitted with glass, to admit daylight. 
soffit - The finished undersurface of any overhead building component, such as an arch, balcony, beam, cornice, or lintel. 
soldier course - A course of bricks where the stretchers (long sides) of the bricks are set vertically. 
soleplate - A horizontal timber which serves as a base for the studs in a stud wall or partition. 
spall - A small fragment split off from the face of a stone or masonry unit by a blow or by action of the elements. 
span - The interval between two terminals of a construction. 
spire - Any slender pointed construction surmounting a building. 
stabilization - The reestablishment of a weather resistant enclosure and structural stability of an unsafe or deteriorated property. 
stack - A vent, as for plumbing. 
standing seam metal - A roof covering of long sheets of metal one edge of which is folded over the edge of the adjoining sheet and crimped, forming a raised seam. 
step - A stair unit that consists of one tread and one riser. 
stile - One of the upright structural members of a frame, as at the outer edge of a door or a window sash. 
stoop - A platform or small porch at the entrance of a house. 
stop - The molding or trim on the inside face of a door or window frame against which the door or window closes. 
story - The space in a building between floor levels, or between a floor and a roof. 
Streamline Moderne style - Architectural style during the 1930s based on the streamlined effect of air gliding over an airfoil. 
stretcher - A masonry unit laid horizontally with its length in the direction of the face of the wall. 
string course - A horizontal band or course, projecting beyond or flush with the face of a building.  Also called a belt course. 
stringer - A long, heavy horizontal timber which connects the posts in a frame which supports a floor. 
stucco - An exterior finish, usually textured; composed of portland cement, lime, and sand mixed with water. 
surround - An encircling border or decorative frame. 

terra-cotta - Hard, unglazed fired clay; used for ornamental work and roof and floor tile. 
texture - The tactile and visual quality of a surface or substance other than its color. 
tie beam - In roof framing, a horizontal timber, connecting two opposite rafters to prevent them from spreading. 
threshold - A strip fastened to the floor beneath a door; may provide weather protection at exterior doors. 
tracery - The openwork pattern within the upper part of a Gothic window. 
transom - 1. The cross-bar separating a door from a window, panel, or louver above it. 2. An opening over a door or window. 3. The window area above the display windows and door of a commercial storefront. 
transom light - A glazed light above the transom. 
tread - The horizontal upper surface of a step in a stair. 
trellis - An arbor or framework, sometimes including lattice, for the support of vines or other vegetation. 
triglyph - A Frieze ornament consisting of slightly raised vertical bands separated by V-shaped grooves. 
truss - A structure composed of a combination of members, usually in a triangular arrangement, so as to constitute a rigid framework. 
turned work - Wood pieces having a circular outline, such as columns and balusters; usually cut on a lathe. 

valance - The overhanging edge of an awning where a sign may be lettered. 
valley - The trough formed by the intersection of two inclined planes of a roof. 
vent - An opening, as in a wall, serving as an outlet for air, smoke, fumes, or the like. 
veranda - A covered porch or balcony, extending along the outside of a building, planned for summer leisure. 
Vernacular architecture - A mode of building based on regional forms and materials. These structures are not generally designed by an architect. 

wainscot - A decorative or protective facing applied to the lower portion of a wall. 
water table - A projecting string course placed to divert rainwater from a building. 
weatherboards - Wood siding used as the exterior covering on a building frame construction. 
window - An opening in an external wall of a building to admit light and (usually) air; usually glazed. 
wing - A subsidiary part of a building extending out from the main portion. 
wrought-iron - Iron that is hammered or forged into shape, usually decorative, either when the metal is hot or cold.