‖ anta Arch.
(ˈæntə)
Commonly in pl. antæ.
[L. antæ (no sing.), perh. f. ante before. Cf. antes.]
A square pilaster on either side of a door, or at the corner of a building.
| 1751 Chambers Cycl. s.v., The projecture of the Antæ should always equal that of the ornaments. 1837 Penny Cycl. VII. 220/1 The Greeks never employed antæ, except at an angle or the extremity of a wall..Sometimes the Doric anta has a simple kind of moulding and groove at its foot. |
Comb. anta-cap (pl. antæ-caps), the capital or top of an anta.
| 1837 Penny Cycl. VII. 220/1 [The Greeks] purposely gave to such pilasters, bases and antæ-caps dissimilar from those of the columns..The Doric anta-cap is very simple, and its abacus and other mouldings much narrower than those of the column-capital. |