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oriel

Etymology and origin of the English word oriel

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈɔːɹiəl/[1]

Etymology

It comes from Middle English,[2] from Old French oriol (“porch, gallery”)[2][3][4][5] and from Medieval Latin oriolum (“porch, gallery, small room”),[2][3][4] of uncertain origin.[3][4] Etymonline suggests a diminutive of Latin aulaeum “curtain”,[4] and Random House Latin aureolus “gilded”.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A portico, corridor, gallery or balcony, or a small room forming a projection (before 1259; 1236 in Barnhart).[6][3][4]

Semantic evolution

By the mid-14th century the word meant a large recessed window,[4] and from about 1440 a polygonal bay projecting from an upper storey, supported on brackets or corbels.[6][2][5] Oriel window is recorded from 1765.[6] The OED notes that the history of the senses is obscure.[4]

Timeline

  • 1236 – a room containing an oriel.[3]
  • before 1259 – a portico or gallery.[6]
  • 1360 – a bay window.[3]
  • about 1440 – a projecting polygonal recess.[6]
  • 1765 – oriel window.[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A projecting bay window in an upper storey, supported from below by brackets or corbels.
  2. In medieval architecture, a large bay window of a hall or chamber.
  • bay window
  • corbel

Usage notes

Wiktionary notes that there is no generally accepted difference between a bay window and an oriel, though in American use oriel is often used for small or corbelled bay windows.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Oriel.” Etymologically, 11 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/oriel. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

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