modillion

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian modiglione.

Noun

modillion (plural modillions)

  1. (architecture) A decoratively carved supporting block atop a column.
    • 1922: The familiar classic console or modillion is an example: although in general contour it is well adapted to its function as a supporting bracket, embedded in, and projecting from a wall, yet the scroll-like ornament with which its sides are embellished gives it the appearance of not entering the wall at all, but of being stuck against it in some miraculous manner. — Claude Fayette Bragdon in The Beautiful Necessity: Seven Essays on Theosophy and Architecture, Essay II, Unity and Polarity
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