Gable roof

A roof with two slopes meeting at a peak.

Gambrel roof

A roof with a break in the pitch of its slopes, the lower slopes being steeper than the upper.

Hipped roof

A roof with four sloping sides.

Pediment

The gable of a classical temple, often found as a decorative device above a doorway or window, where it may be triangular, segmental, scroll, or broken.

Pilaster

A column that projects from a wall, either exterior or interior, especially around doorways, where it supports an entablature or pediment.

Entablature

The horizontal element between a column and a pediment.

Cornice

The upper part of an entablature.

Frieze

The central and usually widest part of an entablature.

Architrave

The lower part of an entablature. Also, the molding around a window or door.

Capital

The decorative element at the top of a column or pilaster.

Order

The term used to denote a style of classical architecture, most readily identified by the decoration of the capitals but also determined by the proportions and detailing of the columns and entablature. Most commonly Doric, Ionic, or Corinthian.

Bay

A vertical unit of a building’s facade, commonly containing a window or door. Many Georgian houses have five bays.

Stringcourse or belt course

A narrow horizontal band across a building’s facade marking the separation between floors.

Water table

A stringcourse marking the separation between basement and first floor.

Quoin

Stone, brick, or wood accentuating the corners of many Georgian buildings (although not at Westover).

Dormer

A window and its enclosing structure projecting from a sloping roof.