cornice

noun

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cor·nice | \ ˈkȯr-nəs

, -nish \

Definition of cornice

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : the molded and projecting horizontal member that crowns an architectural composition — see column illustration

b : a top course that crowns a wall

2 : a decorative band of metal or wood used to conceal curtain fixtures

3 : an overhanging mass of windblown snow or ice usually on a ridge

cornice

verb

corniced; cornicing

Definition of cornice (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

: to furnish or crown with a cornice

Examples of cornice in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun The Levinson is a 5-story, 85-unit apartment building with first-floor storefronts, a limestone base, arched windows, a limestone band above the first floor and a cornice. — John Tuohy, The Indianapolis Star, "Townhouse, duplexes, retail development planned across from Ruoff Music Center," 20 Nov. 2020 In the kitchen, a 19th-century iron light fixture made in Brussels illuminates a centuries-old stove hood cornice that is installed over a six-burner Viking stove and near a Sub-Zero refrigerator. — oregonlive, "Art dealers to sell their antique-filled Portland Heights mansion priced at $1.4 million," 26 Oct. 2020 The building was designed by MacNaughton & Raymond and recognized for its quality construction and appearance, including decorative cornice and masonry, and its handsome entrance and lobby. — oregonlive, "Historic preservation awards salute a wine-filled grain elevator, updated factories and other cool restorations (before, after photos)," 24 Sep. 2020 Installing a cornice box at the ceiling level can help prevent light from escaping upward from the windows and reflecting off the ceiling. — Eustacia Huen, Washington Post, "How to create a sleep-friendly bedroom," 7 Aug. 2019 Throughout the home, the arched windows feature ornately carved original wooden cornices. — Michelle Matthews | Mmatthews@al.com, al, "After decades of neglect, it’s time for this historic home in Mobile to shine once again," 12 Feb. 2020 Installing a cornice box at the ceiling level can help prevent light from escaping upward from the windows and reflecting off the ceiling. — Eustacia Huen, Washington Post, "How to create a sleep-friendly bedroom," 7 Aug. 2019 Snow cornices are especially prone to breaking during avalanches. — Niha Masih, Washington Post, "Eight climbers died in the Himalayas. This GoPro footage shows the last video of them still alive.," 9 July 2019 Its exterior renovation included the replacement of 2,483 historically accurate windows and restoration of the decorative cornice complete with caryatid statues. — John Gallagher, Detroit Free Press, "Bedrock hires architect for Book restoration, hosts public tour Saturday," 4 Sep. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb To match the profile and ornamentation of the lost cornice, which features rosettes alternating with concave brackets, Allen photographed the sister cornice at 31 Greene. — John Freeman Gill, New York Times, "A Cast-Iron SoHo Facade and Its Odyssey to New Jersey and Back," 24 Apr. 2020 Similarly he had missing sections of hand carved cornicing restored. — Ruth Bloomfield, WSJ, "A Renovated Riad Fit for a Sultan," 2 May 2018 Similarly he had missing sections of hand carved cornicing restored. — Ruth Bloomfield, WSJ, "A Renovated Riad Fit for a Sultan," 2 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cornice.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for cornice

Noun

earlier cornish, borrowed from Middle French corniche, borrowed from Italian cornice "cornice on a column," earlier, "ledge projecting from a rock wall," perhaps going back to Latin cornīc-, cornīx "crow" (assuming a figurative sense "projection, something jutting out" in Vulgar Latin), derivative (with -īc-, -ix, particularizing suffix), from a base *kor-n-, perhaps from the oblique of an n-stem *kor-ōn seen in Greek korṓnē "crow"; the base *kor- "corvid," with different suffixation, seen also in Umbrian curnaco "crow," Greek korak-, kórax "raven," Latin corvus "raven," and, if going back to Indo-European *ḱor-, Russian soróka "magpie," Polish sroka, Serbian & Croatian svrȁka (with secondary -v-), Lithuanian šárka (from Balto-Slavic *ḱor-Hk-), Sanskrit śāri- "kind of bird"

Note: For an association between something projecting and a corvid cf. the etymology of corbel entry 1. Italian cornice has also been seen as an outcome of Greek korōnid-, korōnís "crook-beaked, curved, curved pen stroke, copestone (in the lexicographer Hesychius)," though phonologically this is implausible. The base *kor-/*ḱor- is ultimately onomatopoeic, perhaps an expansion of *kr-, the initial of other independently derived Indo-European words for corvid birds (cf. crow entry 1, raven entry 1).