pediment: Meaning and Definition of

ped•i•ment

Pronunciation: (ped'u-munt), [key]
— n.
  1. (in classical architecture) a low gable, typically triangular with a horizontal cornice and raking cornices, surmounting a colonnade, an end wall, or a major division of a façade.
  2. any imitation of this, often fancifully treated, used to crown an opening, a monument, etc., or to form part of a decorative scheme.
  3. a gently sloping rock surface at the foot of a steep slope, as of a mountain, usually thinly covered with alluvium.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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