finial

== English == === Etymology === From Late Middle English finial (“(adjective) final; (noun) ornament at the upper extremity of a pinnacle, spire, etc.”) [and other forms], a variant of final (“pertaining to the close or end of something, last, final”), from Old French final (“last, final; definitive”) (modern French final), from Latin fīnālis (“of or pertaining to the end of something, final; of or pertaining to boundaries”), from fīnis (“a border; an end”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- (“to split”) or *dʰeygʷ- (“to set up; to stick”)) + -ālis (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining’ to forming adjectives). === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈfɪn.i.əl/, /ˈfaɪ-/ (General American) IPA(key): /ˈfɪn.i.əl/ Hyphenation: fin‧i‧al === Noun === finial (plural finials) (architecture) Especially in Gothic architecture: an ornament, often in the form of a bunch or knot of foliage, on the peak of the gable of a roof, a pediment, a pinnacle, etc. Coordinate term: fleuron (by extension) Any decorative fitting on the corner, end, or top of an object such as a canopy, a fencepost, a flagpole, a curtain rod, or the newel post of a staircase. (figurative, also attributive) The completion or end of something. ==== Hyponyms ==== pineapple finial ==== Derived terms ==== finialed, finialled ==== Translations ==== === References === === Further reading === finial on Wikipedia.Wikipedia “finial, n.”, in Collins English Dictionary. “finial, n.”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present. === Anagrams === failin'