From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Oriel \O"ri*el\, noun [OF. oriol gallery, corridor, LL. oriolum portico, hall, prob. fr. L. aureolus gilded, applied to an apartment decorated with gilding. See {Oriole}.] [Formerly written also {oriol}, {oryal}, {oryall}.]
1. A gallery for minstrels. [Obs.] --W. Hamper.
2. A small apartment next a hall, where certain persons were accustomed to dine; a sort of recess. [Obs.] --Cowell.
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.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
noun
1: a projecting bay window corbeled or cantilevered out from a wall [syn: {oriel window}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
38 Moby Thesaurus words for "oriel": alcove, bay, bay window, bow window, carrel, casement, casement window, corner, cove, cranny, cubby, cubbyhole, cubicle, fan window, fanlight, grille, lancet window, lantern, lattice, light, louver window, niche, nook, pane, picture window, port, porthole, recess, roomlet, rose window, skylight, snuggery, transom, wicket, window, window bay, window glass, windowpane
Define.com is a registered nonprofit corporation dedicated solely to the global public interest and the advancement of humanity. It belongs to all of us who have a desire to promote electronic democracy, science, creativity, imagination, reason, critical thinking, peace, race and gender equality, civil rights, equal access to education, personal liberty, free speech, animal rights, compassionate and nonviolent parenting, social and economic justice, global monetary reform, Secular Humanism, cognitive liberty and a permanent cessation of The War on Drugs.
Let's see what we can do if we put our heads together.
0