cornice

1 of 2

noun

cor·​nice ˈkȯr-nəs 

-nish

1

a

: the molded and projecting horizontal member that crowns an architectural composition see column illustration

b

: a top course that crowns a wall

2

: a decorative band of metal or wood used to conceal curtain fixtures

3

: an overhanging mass of windblown snow or ice usually on a ridge

Illustration of cornice

• c cornice 1a

cornice

2 of 2

verb

corniced; cornicing

transitive verb

: to furnish or crown with a cornice

Examples of cornice in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

These buildings followed the example of an extruded Renaissance palazzo with a prominent roof cornice set by McKim, Mead & White’s 998 Fifth Avenue of 1910. —David Netto, Curbed, 17 Oct. 2024

The building is clad in glazed terra-cotta and limestone, with plenty of Beaux Arts decorative elements such as oriel windows, cornices, and moldings that reward a closer look. —Rachel Davies, Architectural Digest, 26 Sep. 2024

Verb

The largest reception room has ornate cornicing on the ceiling, an original fireplace and, between brass chandeliers, a disco ball. —Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 16 May 2024

Naturally, there are a ton of period details inside, including ornate fireplaces and ceiling cornicing. —Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 28 Apr. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Noun

earlier cornish, borrowed from Middle French corniche, borrowed from Italian cornice "cornice on a column," earlier, "ledge projecting from a rock wall," perhaps going back to Latin cornīc-, cornīx "crow" (assuming a figurative sense "projection, something jutting out" in Vulgar Latin), derivative (with -īc-, -ix, particularizing suffix), from a base *kor-n-, perhaps from the oblique of an n-stem *kor-ōn seen in Greek korṓnē "crow"; the base *kor- "corvid," with different suffixation, seen also in Umbrian curnaco "crow," Greek korak-, kórax "raven," Latin corvus "raven," and, if going back to Indo-European *ḱor-, Russian soróka "magpie," Polish sroka, Serbian & Croatian svrȁka (with secondary -v-), Lithuanian šárka (from Balto-Slavic *ḱor-Hk-), Sanskrit śāri- "kind of bird"

Note: For an association between something projecting and a corvid cf. the etymology of corbel entry 1. Italian cornice has also been seen as an outcome of Greek korōnid-, korōnís "crook-beaked, curved, curved pen stroke, copestone (in the lexicographer Hesychius)," though phonologically this is implausible. The base *kor-/*ḱor- is ultimately onomatopoeic, perhaps an expansion of *kr-, the initial of other independently derived Indo-European words for corvid birds (cf. crow entry 1, raven entry 1).

Verb

derivative of cornice entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1563, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1744, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

cornice

noun

cor·​nice

ˈkȯr-nəs

1

: the decorative piece that forms the top edge of a building or column and extends beyond it

2

: an ornamental molding where the walls meet the ceiling of a room

3

: a decorative band of metal or wood to conceal curtain fixtures