modillion
modillion noun: a decoratively carved supporting block atop a column, often underneath a cornice, and usually smaller and more ornamental in function than a corbel.
Noun
modillion (plural modillions)
- A decoratively carved supporting block atop a column, often underneath a cornice, and usually smaller and more ornamental in function than a corbel.
- It is a large square structure, two and a half stories in height, with a hipped roof rising above a handsome cornice with prominent modillions and surmounted by a balustraded belvedere.1920, Frank Cousins, Phil M. Riley, The Colonial Architecture of Philadelphia, Boston: Little, Brown, and Company
- The familiar classic console or modillion is an example: although in general contour it is well adapted to its function as a supporting bracket, embedded in, and projecting from a wall, yet the scroll-like ornament with which its sides are embellished gives it the appearance of not entering the...1922, Claude Fayette Bragdon, “Unity and Polarity”, in The Beautiful Necessity: Seven Essays on Theosophy and Architecture, Essay II
Forms of modillion
| plural | modillions |
|---|
Origin of modillion
Borrowed from Italian modiglione. Doublet of moellon.
Words formed from modillion
Questions about modillion
- What does modillion mean?
- Modillion means a decoratively carved supporting block atop a column, often underneath a cornice, and usually smaller and more ornamental in function than a corbel.
- What part of speech is modillion?
- Modillion is a noun.
- What is the plural of modillion?
- The plural of modillion is modillions.
Words near modillion in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: modillion (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “modillion.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/modillion. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.