ogival, a. (n.)
(əʊˈdʒaɪvəl, ˈəʊdʒɪvəl)
[f. next + -al1, or a. F. ogival (in J. Michelet 1835).]
A. adj.
1. a. Having the form or outline of an ogive or pointed (‘Gothic’) arch.
| 1841 Blackw. Mag. XLIX. 150 (tr. Michelet Hist. France II. 666) In the ogival triangle, in the ogive, two lines are bent. 1868 Athenæum 25 July 112/3 They..show..how a flat⁓headed shot must penetrate an inclined plate better than a shot with an ogival head. 1871 Hartwig Subterr. World xxiii. 269 Its roof is supported by an ogival vault or an arch. 1875 Wond. Phys. World I. ii. 88 Black lines forming parabolic or ogival curves. 1888 Times (weekly ed.) 30 Mar. 8/3 [The ship has] ogival ends like the head of a Palliser projectile. 1900 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 12 May 1156 With regard to the head of the bullet, the..type which offers..least resistance is that known as ogival, which means that the curve is..part of the circle, the radius of which is equal to two diameters of the base of the bullet. |
b. Characterized by ogives or pointed arches.
| 1855 tr. Labarte's Handbk. Arts Mid. Ages v. 235 The style of ogival architecture. 1882 E. O'Donovan Merv Oasis I. xxv. 420 The peculiar ogival forms of Persian and Saracenic architecture. 1891 Pall Mall G. 10 Dec. 6/1 The rise and growth of the Ogival—or Gothic—style. |
c. Comb., as ogival-cylindrical, ogival-headed adjs.
| 1868 Rep. Munit. War 126 A solid steel shot..having either a cylindrical or ogival-cylindrical shape. Ibid. 263 The ogival-headed shot..does not rack like spherical shot. |
2. Having the shape of an ogee.
| 1962 Flight Internat. LXXXI. 269/1 One of the two Fairey FD.2 research aircraft owned by the Ministry of Aviation is being converted..to flight-test an ogival wing. 1965 Times 11 Sept. 7/6 Instead of being an ordinary, straight-sided delta, the Concord wing is ogival. Each wing starts as a sharp point.., spreads outwards and then curves in again. 1976 Jane's Pocket Bk. Res. & Exper. Aircraft 19 Special design features: Slender ogival delta wings. |
B. n. An ogival head of a shot.
| 1894 Times 2 Aug. 3/6 Its ogival and point had been fused..as had been the case with the first shot. |