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Glite Dictionary
💏 Kissing and hugging 🏛️ A column band
necking

necking

9.9
A narrow band just below the top part of a column
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : cuello
  • The architect specified a decorative necking to provide a smooth transition from the column shaft to the capital.

Examples

  • In classical architecture, the necking serves as a visual break, adding elegance just below the capital.

  • The necking is an important decorative feature on the classical column, enhancing its overall appearance.

  • They were taking some time off from what they called "rough-necking" there to return this motor yacht to its port in Alaska for the man who owned it and who had left it, as they said, "somewhere else" before flying home, though they never revealed exactly where the "somewhere else" was.

    Fiction book (2001)

Synonyms

gorgerin
vsnecking
  • Archaic
9.9

A small ring on a column just below the decorated top

has identical meaning but is an alternate technical term

Compounds

rubber-necking
  • Informal
7.5

Looking at sights while travelling, often as a tourist

How Ornamental

capital
  • Specialized
8 9.1
gorgerin
  • Archaic
9.9
necking
  • Specialized
9.9

Surface Forms

necking singular
neckings plural

Morphology

necking = neck (semi-transparent) = neck + ing

The architectural term is based on the idea of a narrow 'neck'-like section, but the specialized sense is not completely predictable for all learners.

Etymology

Necking in architecture comes from the word neck, which means 'narrow part'. Just like the neck of a bottle or a person's neck is a thin area between two larger parts, the necking on a column is the small band just below the top, so the name points to its narrow shape.