archivolt Arch.
(ˈɑːkɪvəʊlt)
Also 8 -vault.
[ad. It. archivolto, arcovolta (or F. archivolte, with ch soft), f. arco:—L. arcus arch + volta vault, arch, volto arched. Archivoltum is found in med.L.]
The under curve or inner contour of an arch, from impost to impost; the band of mouldings which ornaments this curve.
| 1731 in Bailey. 1761 J. Kirby Perspect. Archit. 11 Archivaults always fall upon the impost. 1823 Nicholson Pract. Builder 311 When they [architraves] traverse the curve of an arch, they are called archivolts. 1862 Rawlinson Five Gt. Mon. I. vi. 360 Spanned by an arch above, the archivolte being covered with enamelled bricks. |