finial

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Pronunciation

• (British) IPA: /ˈfɪn.i.əl/

Noun

finial (plural finials)

1. The knot or bunch of foliage, or foliated ornament, that forms the upper extremity of a pinnacle in Gothic architecture.

   cot en

   • 1924, Herman Melville, Billy Budd, London: Constable & Co., Chapter 24,

     Truth uncompromisingly told will always have its ragged edges; hence the conclusion of such a narration is apt to be less finished than an architectural finial.

   • 2004, Alan Hollinghurst, The Line of Beauty, Bloomsbury, 2005, Chapter 3,

     The steep slate roofs were topped with bronze finials so tall and fanciful they looked like drops of liquid sliding down a thread.

2. Any decorative fitting at the peak of a gable, or on the top of a flagpole, fence post or staircase newel post.

Translations

• French: fleuron
• German: Giebelblume, Firstblume, Kreuzblume

Translations

• French: épi de faîtage, poinçon
• German: Dachschmuck (roof), Giebelschmuck (gable)

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