finial

/ˈfɪn.i.əl/

Etymology

From Late Middle English finial (“(adjective) final; (noun) ornament at the upper extremity of a pinnacle, spire, etc.”) [and other forms], a variant of final (“pertaining to the close or end of something, last, final”), from Old French final (“last, final; definitive”) (modern French final), from Latin fīnālis (“of or pertaining to the end of something, final; of or pertaining to boundaries”), from fīnis (“a border; an end”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- (“to split”) or *dʰeygʷ- (“to set up; to stick”)) + -ālis (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining’ to forming adjectives).

Why this word is great

FINIAL — [Noun] A decorative ornament at the top, end, or corner of an object, such as a spire, gable, or curtain rod. From Late Middle English finial, a variant of final, from Old French final ("last, final"), from Latin fīnālis ("of or pertaining to the end"), from fīnis ("end, boundary"). Unlike "pinnacle" (which marks the highest point without ornament) or "knob" (a mere protuberance, functional and plain), a finial is the flourish that crowns the utilitarian, the last word in a silent argument between structure and beauty. It is the gilded acorn atop a bedpost, the iron fleur-de-lis on a gatepost, the delicate brass bud capping a curtain rod—a small defiance against the austerity of function, a reminder that even endings can be deliberate, shaped, and lovely.

noun

Especially in Gothic architecture: an ornament, often in the form of a bunch or knot of foliage, on the peak of the gable of a roof, a pediment, a pinnacle, etc.“His [Butades'] invention it vvas to ſet up Gargils or Antiques at the top of a Gavill end, as a finiall to the creſt tiles, vvhich in the beginning he called Protypa.”
Any decorative fitting on the corner, end, or top of an object such as a canopy, a fencepost, a flagpole, a curtain rod, or the newel post of a staircase.“The finial is also of timber (probably oak) and is of the rather elaborate type, originally favoured by the London & South Western Railway for its timber masts.”
The completion or end of something.“But, as the Phœnix on my Front doth gliſter, / Thou ſhalt the Finials of my Frame illuſtre.”