Entablature

//ɛnˈtæ.blə.t͡ʃɚ// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    All of that part of a classical temple above the capitals of the columns; includes the architrave, frieze, and cornice but not the roof.

    "In the midst was one immense cedar, worthy to have been a summer palace on Lebanon; beneath, sheltered by its huge boughs from the sun, was a well, whose square marble walls were covered with the entablatures of the Roman days,—oval compartments of figures, surrounded by a carved wreath of the palm."

  2. 2
    (architecture) the structure consisting of the part of a classical temple above the columns between a capital and the roof wordnet

Example

More examples

"In the midst was one immense cedar, worthy to have been a summer palace on Lebanon; beneath, sheltered by its huge boughs from the sun, was a well, whose square marble walls were covered with the entablatures of the Roman days,—oval compartments of figures, surrounded by a carved wreath of the palm."

Etymology

From Italian intavolatura, from in + tavola (“table”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.