squinch means A structure constructed between two adjacent walls to aid in the transition from a polygonal to a circular structure, as when a dome is constructed on top of a square room.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, squinch ranks #3,412 of 42,747 for Qualifying.
squinch is pronounced /skwɪnt͡ʃ/.
Etymology
Alteration of earlier scunch (“back part of the side of an opening”), short for scuncheon.
noun
- A structure constructed between two adjacent walls to aid in the transition from a polygonal to a circular structure, as when a dome is constructed on top of a square room.
verb
- To scrunch up (one's face, etc.).e.g.“The president squinched his face and bit his lip and seemed too antsy to stand still.” — 2008 March 15, Gail Collins, “George Speaks, Badly”, in New York Times:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- sconcheon 67% match — A squinch. vs squinch →
- pendentive 56% match — The concave triangular sections of vaulting that provide the transition between a dome and the square base on which it is set and transfer the weight of the dome. vs squinch →
- spandrel 56% match — The space (often more or less triangular) between the outer curve of an arch (the extrados) and a straight-sided figure that bounds it; the space between two contiguous arches and a straight feature above them. vs squinch →
- squircular 55% match — Of the shape of a squircle, intermediate between a square and a circle. vs squinch →
- quoining 55% match — The architectural elements, such as stone or brick, that form a quoin. vs squinch →
- skillion 55% match — A room built against the back of another building, having a separate roof. vs squinch →
- quonset 54% match — A prefabricated building having a roof of corrugated iron and semicircular cross section. vs squinch →
- sqround 54% match — Shaped like a rectangular prism, but with a round top; (commonly said of bottles). vs squinch →