Words at Play : In the Details: Architecture Terms Worth Looking At
Definition:
a piece of wood or stone that lies across the top of a door or window and holds the weight of the structure above it
About the Word:
Lintel has the same Latin root as limit.
Found in most of our houses today, lintels (with the posts that hold them up) have pre-historic origins that can be seen in structures like Stonehenge.
More Words at Play
