Definition of plinth
1a : the lowest member of a base : subbaseb : a block upon which the moldings of an architrave or trim are stopped at the bottom
2 : a usually square block serving as a base; broadly : any of various bases or lower parts
3 : a course of stones forming a continuous foundation or base course
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Recent Examples of plinth from the Web
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Down go all ten of the plinths, taking the art with them.
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Down go all ten of the plinths, taking the art with them.
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The monument fell from its plinth after being struck and broken into multiple pieces on the ground.
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The man putting it on a plinth was Chinese, Mr. Mugane noted.
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The controversial monument to the Confederate president was removed from its plinth in New Orleans amid tight security.
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While Calle was on hand over the opening weekend to inaugurate the piece herself, for the next 25 years, visitors are welcome to write down their most intimate secrets on slips of paper and deposit them into a slot in the plinth.
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My favorite exhibition of his took place two years ago, at Moderna Museet in Stockholm, where a panoply of little curiosities, from concrete balls to ruptured sneakers, was carefully arrayed on a tall plinth lit from below.
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The Palmyra Tetrapylon, characterized by its four plinths that are not connected overhead, had only one original ancient column, said Abdulkarim.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'plinth.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
plinth and Architecture
"These ivy-clad arcades — / These mouldering plinths ... are they all — / All of the famed, and the colossal left…?" In these lines from "The Coliseum," Edgar Allan Poe alludes to a practical feature of classical architecture. The plinth serves the important purpose of raising the base of the column it supports above the ground, thus protecting it from dampness and mold. The humble plinth is usually a mere thick block. It's humbly named, too, for the Greek word plinthos means simply "tile" or "brick." English writers have used plinth, a shortened version of the Latin form plinthus, since the mid-16th century. The word's meaning was later extended to bases for statues, vases, or busts.
Origin and Etymology of plinth
Latin plinthus, from Greek plinthos
PLINTH Defined for English Language Learners
plinth
playDefinition of plinth for English Language Learners
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: a block of stone or wood that is used as the base for a pillar, statue, etc.
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Britannica English: Translation of plinth for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about plinth
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