Look up: pendentive

1. 
   pendentive
   A spherical triangle which acts as a transition between a circular dome and a square base on which the dome is set
   Found on http://www.pitt.edu/~medart/menuglossary
   
   
2. 
   Pendentive
   a sort of curved triangle, which is the solution to the problem of placing a dome on top of a square. The pendentive is in effect, a section of a dome, in the shape of a triangle which rises from a corner of the square, to meet in a circle from which the base of the dome can be constructed. ...
   Found on http://www.trp.dundee.ac.uk/research/glo
   
   
3. 
   Pendentive
   A concave, triangular piece of masonry placed at the corners of a square bay and used to make a structural and visual transition from the square bay to the circular base of a covering drum or dome. It is actually, a triangular section of a hemisphere. Contrast with: squinch.
   Found on http://www.virtualani.org/glossary/index
   
   
4. 
   Pendentive
   Pen·den'tive noun [ French pendentif , from Latin pendere to hang.] (Architecture) (a) The portion of a vault by means of which the square space in the middle of a building is brought to an octagon or circle to receive a cupola. (b) The part of a groined vault which is supported by, and springs from, one pier or corbel.
   Found on http://www.encyclo.co.uk/webster/P/45
   
   
5. 
   Pendentive
   A `pendentive` is a constructive device permitting the placing of a circular dome over a square room or an elliptical dome over a rectangular room. The pendentives, which are triangular segments of a sphere, taper to points at the bottom and spread at the top to establish the continuous circular or elliptical base needed for the dome. In masonry the pendentives thus receive the weight of the dome, concentrating it at the four corners where it can...
   Found on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pendentive
   
   
6. 
   Pendentive
   • (n.) The part of a groined vault which is supported by, and springs from, one pier or corbel. • (n.) The portion of a vault by means of which the square space in the middle of a building is brought to an octagon or circle to receive a cupola.
   Found on http://thinkexist.com/dictionary/meaning
   
   
7. 
   pendentive
   in architecture, a triangular segment of a spherical surface, filling in the upper corners of a room, in order to form, at the top, a circular ... [3 related articles]
   Found on http://www.britannica.com/eb/a-z/p/38
   
   
8. 
   pendentive
   pendentive, in architecture, a constructive device permitting the placing of a circular dome over a square room or an elliptical dome over a rectangular room. The pendentives, which are triangular segments of a sphere, taper to points at the bottom and spread at the top to establish the continuous c...
   Found on http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/world/A083