pediˈmental, a.
[f. pediment1 + -al1.]
1. Of or pertaining to a pediment, of the nature of a pediment.
| 1851 C. Newton in Ruskin's Stones Ven. I. App. xxi. 406 The necessities of pedimental composition first led the artist to place the river-god in a reclining position. 1864 Athenæum 27 Feb. 304/2 Externally, the ends of the naves and transepts will present eight pedimental fa{cced}ades flanked by supporting turrets. |
b. Shaped like a pediment, rising to a vertical angle; applied esp. to the ‘diamond-shaped’ head-dress worn by women in the 16th century.
| 1890 Cent. Dict. s.v., Commonly called by writers on costume the pedimental head-dress. 1895 Traill's Soc. Eng. III. 158 The butterfly and steeple head-dresses died out with Henry VII, and a head-covering, called the kennel, pedimental, or diamond-shaped head-dress, took its place. |
2. Of or pertaining to a pedestal: see pediment1 2.
| 1891 G. Meredith One of our Conq. xxxvi, She read off the honorific pedimental letters of a handsome statue, for a sign to herself that she passed it. |