General Terms Flashcards
A tree or shrub of the Mimosaceous genus, native to warm geographical regions; a favorite vegetative form in much artwork in the Middle East; Gum Arabic
Acacia
In the open air; out of doors; Italian for “in the fresh air”
Al Fresco
A place shaded by trees or shrubs; an open structure, usually consisting of a horizontal framework or a littice work supported by columns on which vines or other plants are trained
Arbor
A real or imaginary straight line on which an object rotates or is perceived to balance; a centerline along which the parts of an object are symmetrically balanced
Axis
The place of several elements along a single centerline or at cross axes to main axis
Axial Planning
Italian word for Bas-relief meaning low relief
Basso Rilievo
Sculpture or carving of shallow depth, usually on a flat or curvd surface of stone; figures project minimally from the monolithic background stone
Bas-relief
Two-sided or arranged on opposite sides of an axis; symmetrical
Bilateral
From the Paleolithic Era; a large horizontal slab-like stone that spans several upright stones as a prehistoric monument or tomb
Cromlech
A low plain along a streambed or channel that is subject to flooding; soil is composed of sediments deposited by the stream
Floodplain
Large upright stones capped with a covering slab; erected in prehistoric times as a monument or tomb
Dolmen
A deposit of rock, gravel, and sand particles that have been transported and laid down by a flowing body of water
Alluvial Deposit
A green, sometimes moist and cool, fertile place in a desert area
Oasis
Having to do with right angles, rectangular, linear, or axial
Orthogonal
A garden structure consisting of a trellis supported by posts or columns and upon which vines or other plants are trained
Pergola
A doorway, gate, or entrance, especially a large and imposing one; pylon
Portal
The Latin word that means “the paintings that adorned the walls of porticos”
Topia
Evergreen plants carved into geometrical or sculptural forms
Topiary
The physical features, both natural and human-made, on the earth’s surface; relief, drainage, surface materials, vegetation, special physical phenomena, and human-made (cultural) features
Topography
A pyramidal staged tower, of which the angles were oriented to the cardinal points
Ziggurat
A coniferous tree with evergeen needle-like leaves, cones, and a chracterisitc fragrance; regarded as sacred in much of the ancient Near East (Scientific Name and Common Name)
Cedrus libani (Cedar of Lebanon)
The hardier coniferous tree with evergeen need-like leaves, cones, and characteristic fragrance; more widely found in America
Cedrus libani sterrocoma
A place of delight; a terrestrial paradise; said to be in the eastern part of the world and surrounded by a high wall or mountains
Eden
A raised place or small hill, usually human-made, designed to give a view of the estate
Mount
An ancient structural system comprised of vertical supports, spanned by horizontal beams
Post and Lintel
Any place of great beauty and perfection; a place or condition of great happiness; heaven
Paradise
A geometric figure having four side and four angles
Quadrilateral
A composition that consists of two axes intersecting at right angles and resulting in all four subdivisions or quadrants being equal; biaxial
Quadrilateral Symmetry
The region where the stages of the ziggurats were developed into continuous inclined ramp circulating the four sides
Assyrian Region
The devise for raising water; used for the irrigation of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon; also used by the ancient Egyptians for pumping water from the Nile into their vast system of irrigation canals; invented by the Mesopotamian civilizations
Spiral Pump
Persian word for garden, especially one that is quadripartite or subdivided into four quadrants by water channels crossing at its center; where the capital city of Iraq gotten its name, hence “Garden City”
Bagh
An important element in ancient Mesopotamian temple complexes; the number of its stages rose from one to seven in the course of time; often, each stage was faced in a stone of a different color, with the top most shrine being the most brilliant in tone
Ziggurat
A large square cloth worn by women in India; Hindu word for “shawl”; used to describe the carved marble water chutes in the Moghul gardens of India and Pakistan where water is made to flow from a pool over a rippled incline to appear to sparkle as it descends to a lower pool
Chadar (Chador, Chuddar, or Chuder)
Persian word for underground water canals that were constructed through the desert to bring water from a remote source to irrigate cultivated lands
Qanat
The Persian word meaning “fence” or “enclosure;” in Arabic, it means “walled around”
Pairidaeza (Paradise)
A garden created to symbolize the qualities of heaven
Paradise Garden
A fortress or fortified place such as a town with a commanding height for military advantages
Citadel
A porch-like structure consisting of a roof supported by columns and attached to a building
Porticos
The public open space for social, civic, and market purposes; normally surrounded by public buildings
Forum
The belief that all natural objects, animate or inamite, as well as the universe, possess a soul
Animism
Attributing human firm or characteristics to inanimate objects, animals or to a god
Anthropomorphic
The horizontal top part of an order of classical architecture supported by columns
Entablature
The three components of an entablature
Architrave
Frieze
Cornice
A vertical, weight-carrying architectural support; circular in cross section, and consisting of a base, a shaft, and a capital; can be erected as freestanding monuments
Column or Pillar
The city that is the seat of government of a country, state, or province; any form of wealth (money or property) capable or being employed in the production of more wealth
Capital
Vertical channeling or grooves; semicircular in cross section; used principally on columns and pilasters
Flute or Fluting
A series or row of columns spanned by lintels
Colonnade
Freestanding masonry support for an arch, usually square in section; same function as a column or pillar
Pier
The topmost feature of a column, post, or pilaster; in classical architecture, it followed various architectural orders
Capital
A flat, rectangular column attached to a wall as decoration rather than structure; usually of the same design order as its structural counterparts; an attached column
Pilaster
A spiral scroll-like form characteristic of the Greek Ionic Capital
Volute
In architecture, the part of a column between the capital and base
Shaft
In architectural ornamentation, a flat square molding separating other moldings; a narrow band between two flutings in a column
Fillet
An architectural member of wood or stone that projects beyond a wall to support a weight such as a roof or balcony; generally, formed of scrolls or volutes
Brackets
Another term for brackets when supporting the upper portion of a cornice
Consoles
In Classical or Renaissance architecture, the topmost projecting portion of the entablature;also refers to any crowning projection of a building
Cornice
The foot or bottom support of a column, pillar, statue, etc.
Pedestal
A Greek term meaning “chief beam;” the beam or lowest division of the entablature which extends from column to column; term also applied to the molded frame around a door or window
Architrave
The portion of the entablature between the architrave and cornice in Classical architecture
Frieze
In classical architecture, the triangular space at the end of a building formed by the ends of the sloping roof and the cornice; also an ornamental feature having this shape
Pediment or Gable
Engineered distribution of water onto land to promote the growth of vegetation where insufficient natural rainfall limits plant growth
Irrigation
The belief in many gods
Polytheism
Th interval or area between or within things which has kength, breadth, and height
Space
The art of space utilization
Landscape Architecture
A space with definite character; consciously intended or appears to be purposeful and not accidental
Positive Space
Bounded by definite edges such as walls, dense vegetation, or landforms; feels unambiguous and has an unmistakable clarity or integrity
Positive Space
Without a definite, consciously intended purpose; accidental; not bounded by definite edges such as walls, dense vegetation, or landforms; feels ambiguous and lacks clarity or integrity
Negative Space
Of the time prior to the fall of the Western Roman Empire
Ancient
The original model or design from which all other things of thr dsmr kind are made
Archetype
Gigantic; vast and rough; massive; an architectural style of stone stone construction using large irregular blocks without mortar
Cyclopean
Any substance used as a binder for other substances
Cement
A viscous mixture cement or lime with sand and water; used to bond units such as concrete blocks, bricks, or stoned together; also used as a plaster or stucco
Mortar
In architecture, the flat slab atop the capital of a column, supporting the entablature or other super-structure
Abacus
A line of arches resting on piers or columns
Arcade
A structural device, semicircular or pointed in shape, formed of separated truncated wedge-shaped blocks to span an opening
Arch
Relating to shepherds or herdsmen; typical rural life; having thr charm or simplicity of rural pastureland
Bucolic or pastoral
Pastoral poem
Bucolic
A place full of intricate passageways; a network of interconnecting passages; formed of clipped evergeen hedges
Labyrinth
Patterns or composition formed by embedding small pieces of stone or glass (tesserae) in mortar or wet plaster on surface such as walls and floors
Mosaic
A molding formed by a convex and concave curve; also an S-curved form
Ogee
A view whose dominant characteristic is its breadth; series of pictures of a landscape displayed on a continuous surface
Panorama
A masonry roof or ceiling constructed on the arch principle
Vault
A type of vault; semicylindrical in criss section; a deep arch or an uninterrupted series if arches one behind the other
Barrel Vault
A symbolic line that extends from the sky to the underworld with the earth at its center; trees, mountains, pyramids, and earth mounds might all be considered as such
Axis mundi
The day the sun crosses the equator, marking days and night of equal length
Equinox
Dates of vernal (spring) equinox and the autumnal equinoz
March 20 and September 23
The furthest point the sun reaches in the sky
Solstice
Dates of the summer solstice (the longest day of the year) and the winter solstice (shortest day of the year)
June 21 and December 21
A vaulted, semicircular recess in a building
Apse
Images inscriped on the earth
Geoglyphs
A sunken or subterranean ceremonial room used in a Puebloan cultures
Kiva
A megalith, an individual standing stone
Menhir
