oriel

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oriel^¹

/ˈɔːɹiəl/

Where it comes from

From Middle English oriel, from Old French oriol (“gallery, corridor”), Late Latin oriolum (“portico, hall”), probably from Latin aureolus (“gilded”), applied to an apartment decorated with gilding. See oriole. Or a diminutive of Latin os (“mouth”).

noun oriels

A large polygonal recess in a building, such as a bay window, forming a protrusion on the outer wall. The middle window of the oriel before her, just caught and reflected back the crimson light and colour. The ground below looked bright and warm compared with the shade around.
obsolete A small apartment next to a hall, used for dining.

Oriel^²

proper noun

abbreviation, ellipsis, informal Ellipsis of Oriel College, Oxford.

Translations

Every language

noun recess in a building, protruding on the outer wall

Français	oriel
Deutsch	Erker

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MLA

"oriel." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/oriel. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

oriel. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/oriel

Chicago

"oriel." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/oriel.

BibTeX

@misc{oriel_2026,
  title = {oriel},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/oriel},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}