海角大神

Last week鈥檚 column considered 鈥�150 Weird Words That Only Architects Use,鈥� as compiled by the architecture website .

Some of the buzz around the list suggests that many of these 鈥渨eird words鈥� are a lexicon of blather that architects use to snow clients and planning boards when they鈥檙e seeking approval of a design.

But the list of 鈥渨eird words鈥� also includes some quite concrete vocabulary: terms such as mullion and muntin and even stylobate.

The language of architecture and construction is full of terms that, while quite simple, are nonetheless rich in metaphorical possibilities: door, window, roof, ceiling, basement 鈥� or cellar. Where would sportswriters be if they couldn鈥檛 refer to the home team at the bottom of the standings as 鈥溾��?

But another type of architectural vocabulary has a different appeal to the lover of words. It鈥檚 language that isn鈥檛 a source of metaphor; it satisfies by providing just the right word.

When you call someone a 鈥減illar of the community,鈥� you draw on a mental image of an that supports the weight of a whole structure (and also has a tendency to bulge in the middle, which may also happen to people who have reached the stage in life when they achieve 鈥減illar鈥� status).

But you wouldn鈥檛 call someone a 鈥溾�� of the community. A is 鈥渁n upright architectural member,鈥� to quote part of 鈥檚 definition, but rectangular, not round; part of a wall, not free-standing; and often ornamental, not load-bearing.

So what about , and stylobate? Muntins are the strips that separate panes of glass in a sash. Mullions are vertical strips that separate the windows. Stylobate sounds daunting, but, according to , is 鈥渁 continuous flat coping or pavement supporting a row of architectural columns.鈥� The word has Greek roots, and the underlying metaphor seems to be that of 鈥渢he path a row of columns walks along.鈥�

Sometimes homeowners don鈥檛 realize they even have this or that architectural doodad until the term for it appears on a contractor鈥檚 estimate: That鈥檚 got etched into my consciousness, as my neighbors and I arranged for repairs of last winter鈥檚 storm damage. Fortunately our modillions didn鈥檛 need repair, but I鈥檓 glad to know that term, too: It refers to the ornamental brackets under a cornice.

For those who don鈥檛 know their from their , there are a number of available online, including one from the Chicago Architecture Foundation. That鈥檚 where I recently learned, among other terms, , 鈥渢he pedestal and sculpture at the top and lower sides of a triangular pediment; originally found in ancient Classical buildings,鈥� but in our own day also in such places as Chicago鈥檚 postmodern .听

Words are tools, and part of the magic of language is finding exactly the right term for a specific thing 鈥� like finding just the right tiny Phillips screwdriver to turn a particular tiny screw.