Definitions come from a compilation of Buffalo Architectural Dictionary, Dictionary.com, and About.com.

Adam decoration: The Adam style (or Adamesque and "Style of the Brothers Adam") is an 18th century neoclassical style of and , as practiced by the three Adam brothers from Scotland. The Adam style moved away from the strict mathematical proportions previously found in Georgian , and introduced curved and , decorated with elaborate plasterwork and striking mixed colour schemes using newly affordable paints in pea green, sky blue, lemon, lilac, bright pink, and red‐brown terracotta.

Apron: Also called skirt. Flat, broad pieces of interior trim used under the stool at the bottom of the window.

Arcaded entry : An arched or covered passageway and the series of are supported on piers or .

Asymmetrical shape: not identical on both sides; lacking symmetry.

Awning: A metal frame clad with fabric attached over a window or to provide protection from the weather.

Baluster: One of a series of short vertical posts, often ornamental, used to support a rail.

Balustrade: A railing composed of and a top rail running along the edge of a porch, , , or stoop.

Band window: One of a horizontal series of three , or more, separated only by mullions that form a horizontal band across the façade of a . Most commonly found in erected after 1900. Also called a ribbon window.

Bay window: A projecting form containing windows that rises from the ground or from some other support, such as a porch roof; see also oriel.

Blind Stop: A piece of rectangular that is utilized in the construction of window frames.

Brickmould: A piece of material, typically , used to cover a gap (Where the window frame and the exterior siding meet) and give the exterior of the window a finished look.

Bracket: A projecting angled or curved form used as a support, found in conjunction with , lintels, , , etc.

Casement window: A window sash that is hinged on the sides to open/swing outward or inward to open.

Casing: The exposed trim molding, , or lining around a door or window; may be either flat or molded.

Clerestory: An upper story row of windows; part of an interior rising above the adjacent roof with windows admitting daylight.

Corbel: An architectural member which projects upward and outward from a wall that supports a horizontal member.

Cornice: A projecting molding that tops the elements to which it is attached; used especially for a roof or the crowning member of an , located above the frieze.

Dentil: A small, square, tooth‐like block in a series beneath a .

Divided light: A term that refers to windows in which multiple individual panes of or lights are assembled in the sash using muntins.

Doric columns/: One of five classical orders, recognizable by its simple . The Greek Doric has a fluted shaft and no base; the Roman Doric column may be fluted or smooth and rests on a molded base.

Dormer: A vertical structure, usually housing a window that projects from a sloping roof and is covered by a separate roof structure

Double Hung Window: A type of window with two sashes, each sliding on a vertical track Double hung configuration allows both the upper and lower sashes to be opened for ventilation. Double hung sash windows are typically referred to as hung sash windows. Single hung sash windows also have two sashes, but only the lower sash can be opened; the upper sash remains in a fixed position. The upper sash is in the outer track and is closer to the exterior. The lower sash is closer to the house interior and is in the inner track.

Eave: The overhanging edge of a roof. usually project beyond the side of the building.

Façade: The main exterior face of a building, sometimes distinguished from the other faces by elaboration of architectural or ornamental details.

Finials: A relatively small, ornamental, terminal feature at the top of a , .

Frieze: 1. The middle horizontal member of a classical entablature, above the architrave and below the cornice. 2. A similar decorative band in a stringcourse or near the top of an interior wall below the cornice. 3. The flat band directly beneath the cornice.

Front, side, or cross gabled roof: The upper portion of an end wall formed by the slope of a roof A pitched roof having a gable at each end.

Half‐Timbering: A decorative treatment that appears to expose structural elements.

Head: The upper horizontal cross member or decorative element of a window frame.

Head Jamb: The side parts of a window frame or window opening, as distinct from head and sill;

Hipped or gabled roof: A roof with four uniformly pitched sides. The roof slopes down to the eaves on all four sides.

Horizontal lap siding: the horizontal placement of siding forming an overlapping pattern. The individual boards are wedge shaped, with the top edge of the board narrower than the lower edge. This shape facilitates the overlapping installation.

Inner/Outer Casing: The casing is the large frame to which the inner window is attached. It may have grooves or rails to allow the lower or upper sash to move. There is usually both an inner and outer casing, with the inner being on the inside of the building and the outer casing showing on the outside of the building. Inside casing is a flat, decorative molding that covers the inside edge of the jambs and the rough openings between the window unit and the wall. Outside casing (or brick mould, above) serves the same purpose, while it also is an installation device through which nails are driven to install the window unit into the wall.

Interior/exterior window Stop: The 2 independent window tracks or channels are created by an interior window stop, a parting strip that separates the 2 sashes and finally an exterior window stop

Knee brace: A diagonal support placed across the angle between two members that are joined; serves to stiffen and strengthen the members.

Lintel: A horizontal structural element over an opening which carries the weight of the wall above it.

Modillion: An ornamental bracket or console supporting the cornice.

Mullion: A vertical primary framing member that separates paired or multiple windows within a single opening.

Muntin: a strip separating panes of glass in a sash. A tertiary framing member that subdivides the sash into individual panes, lights, or panels. Note: Grids placed between two sheets of glass are not considered muntins.

Obscure: inconspicuous or unimportant hidden, secret, or remote gloomy, dark, clouded, or dim to make unclear, vague, or hidden

Oriel: A projecting window carried on or brackets.

Palladian window: A three‐part window opening with a tall, round‐arched center window flanked by smaller rectangular windows and separated by posts or pilasters.

Parapet: A low wall that serves as a vertical barrier at the edge of a roof, , or other raised area; in an exterior wall, the part entirely above the roof

Parting Bead: The small member, usually wood and usually removable, that separates the upper and lower sash pockets in the jamb of a double‐hung window

Pediment: A triangular gable across a , door, window or forming the gable end of a roof above the horizontal cornice; any similar triangular decorative piece over a doorway, , etc.

Pilaster: A shallow rectangular column, pier, or pillar projecting only slightly from a wall and, in , conforming to one of the orders; often with capital and base.

Porch: A covered platform, usually having a separate roof, at an entrance to a building. An open or closed gallery or attached to the outside of a building; a .

Portico: A small covered walkway or porch supported by columns that leads to the entrance of a building.

Projecting bay: a portion of the structure corbeled or cantilevered out from a wall.

Quatrefoil window: A four‐lobed circle or formed by cusping used in windows and arches. Quatrefoils are not the same as shamrocks, though they do have four leaves; the leaves of a quatrefoil are more circular and they appear without the stem of a trefoil, except for very rarely

Rafter: One of a series of inclined members to which a roof covering is fixed; any of a series of small, parallel beams for supporting the sheathing and covering of a pitched roof.

Rail: A bar extending horizontally between supports; the horizontal strip of a frame or a panel. The horizontal members of a window sash or door panel.

Reveal: The side of an opening for a door or window between the frame and the outer surface of a wall, showing the wall’s thickness

Roof cresting: the arch cresting on the ridge and the finial at the apex designed to be decorative and also keep the birds off the roof.

Roughhewn stone: Stone shaped without finishing; i.e. not polished, unfinished, roughly shaped, without smoothing.

Sash (upper/lower): The secondary part of a window which holds the in place; may be operable or fixed; usually constructed of horizontal and vertical members; sash may be subdivided with muntins. The upper sash is in the outer track and is closer to the house exterior. The lower sash is closer to the house interior and is in the inner track.

Sash Window: A window with one or more wood‐framed glass panels that slide up and down vertically. These movable panels are known as sashes and generally have multiple panes of glass in them. The most common type of sash window has both an upper and lower sash that move vertically in separate grooves within the side jambs of the window frame. A heavy counterweight is usually attached to the sash by a cord and pulley assembly to help it maintain a particular vertical position when opened. The cord and pulley assembly is typically hidden inside of the window frame for aesthetic purposes. Some sash windows employ a spring balance system in place of the cord and pulley assembly.

Shed roof: A roof shape having only one sloping plane.

Shingle: A unit composed of wood, cement, asphalt compound, slate, tile or the like, employed in an overlapping series to cover roofs and walls.

Shiplap: Wooden siding rabbeted (a recess or groove cut into the edge of a piece of wood) so that the edge of one board overlaps the one next to it in a flush joint.

Side Jamb: The upright side part of the window frame.

Sill: 1.The lower horizontal part of a window frame or window opening; also the accessory member which extends as a weather barrier from frame to outside face of wall. 2. The horizontal member at the bottom of a window or door.

Spindle work: A decorative trim work that resembles wooden thread spindles.

Stile: A main vertical member of a door or window; one of the upright structural members of a window frame, at the outer edge.

Stool: Inside horizontal trim member of a window sash or door panel.

Storm Window: A supplementary window sash for protecting a window against drafts, driving rain, etc.

Stucco: A coating for exterior walls made from Portland cement, lime, sand, and water.

Turrets: A small tower, usually supported by corbels.

Verge board: A board, often ornately carved or pierced, fixed to the projecting edge of a gable roof utilized as the finish of the eaves; also called Bargeboard.