Ashlar
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Masonry employing flat and well-squared stone or brick, creating an appearance similar to wooden flooring. countable, uncountable
"The four main spans across the waterway are carried on ashlar piers founded on Memel timber piles."
- 2 a rectangular block of hewn stone used for building purposes wordnet
- 3 Stone hewn and finished to create such masonry, either completely or as a facade over an earthen or rubble core. countable, uncountable
"And from the choir itself, where the big hoist was working, came the shouts of the men sweating at the great wheel that swung the cut stones skyward, and the men high overhead on the hurdle-walks, waiting to receive the swinging ashlars and guide them into place."
- 4 A stone intended for hurling by means of a catapult or similar device. countable, historical, uncountable
Example
More examples"The four main spans across the waterway are carried on ashlar piers founded on Memel timber piles."
Etymology
From Middle English assheler, acheler, etc., from forms of Old French esselier (“wooden support, traverse beam”), from Medieval Latin ascelāris and assellāris (equivalent to a diminutive of early forms of ais (“plank”)), variant of *axillāris (attested only after the Renaissance), from Latin axilla (“little plank”) + -āris (“-ary: forming adjectives”), from axis (“axle, plank”) + -illa (“-ella: forming diminutives”).
Related phrases
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.