α. 1500s–1600s 1900s– plinthus.
β. 1500s plynt, 1500s plynth, 1500s– plinth, 1600s plint, 1600s plinthe; Scottish pre-1700 plint.
plinthn.
/plɪnθ/, U.S. /plɪnθ/ 1.
a. Architecture. The square slab at the base of a column; the pedestal.In quot. 1592 in extended use: the flat stone base on which an edifice stands.
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > column > [noun] > base > parts of base
plinth1563
torus1563
sub-basec1619
list1663
tore1664
breast1669
supercilium1686
orle1706
orlo1715
ball of a pillar1736
baston1738
batoon1819
griffe1875
1563 J. Shute First Groundes Archit. sig. Civv The antiques haue made three Plinthus, one aboue an other, the occasion wherof is this, that the earthe should not ouer growe the Base of the Pedestale.
1563 J. Shute First Groundes Archit. sig. Diiiv The Abacus hangeth ouer more then the Plinthus of the Base of the pillor.
1592 R. Dallington tr. F. Colonna Hypnerotomachia f. 8v Huge Pyramides, standing vpon a strong and sound plynth [It. Plintho] or foure square foote.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Plinthe, a Plinth, or Slipper; a flat, and square peece of Masonrie, &c., placed sometimes aboue, sometimes below, the footstall (but euer the first of the Basis) of a piller, &c.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 459/1 The Plinth, or Plinthus.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) The Plinth is..that flat square Table, under the Mouldings of the Base and Pedestal..seeming to have been originally intended to keep the bottom of the primitive wooden Pillars from rotting.
1819 J. Keats Cap & Bells lxxxi White columns wreath'd from capital to plinth.
1842 E. A. Poe in R. Griswold Poets & America 387/2 These dark, these perishing arcades..These mouldering plinths.
a1878 G. G. Scott Lect. Mediæval Archit. (1879) I. 151 In earlier instances the plinth and sub-plinth are both square in plan.
1952 H. H. Saylor Dict. Archit. (1963) 79 Griffe, an ornamental form, somewhat like a claw, extending from the torus of a column base and lying on the four corners of the plinth.
1991 R. Sale Milan (BNC) 118 The column in the piazza is of Baveno granite and was set up where San Carlo Borromeo celebrated Mass during the plague of 1576. The plinth at the base was used as an altar.
b. A block or pedestal on which an object (as a statue, vase, etc.) may be mounted or displayed; (also) the squared base of a piece of furniture.
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > other elements > [noun] > plinth
slipper1611
plinth1634
entablement1664
quadra1664
zocco1664
socle1704
zocle1704
1634 T. Carew Cœlum Britanicum 1 From the ground arose a square Basement, and on the Plinth stood a great vaze of gold, richly enchased.
1712 J. James tr. A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville Theory & Pract. Gardening 216 Upon the Stone Coping, are Plinths to set Vases and Flower-Pots on.
1788 Cabinet-makers' London Bk. Prices (1803) No. 7 If the plinth of the Therms is work'd hollow.
1832 W. Gell Pompeiana I. vi. 109 These figures..stand upon little square plinths.
1856 Farmer's Mag. Jan. 68 A pair..of flower vases, with demi-horses as handles, standing on square plinths.
1969 J. Gloag Short Dict. Furnit. 539 Plinth,..used by cabinet-makers for the foundation of carcase furniture.
1997 Blueprint Mar. 50/5 The visitor is greeted at the entrance by the main exhibit, a metallic-red grand-tourer, dramatically posed on a sloping plinth.
c. Architecture. The projecting part of the wall of a building, immediately above the ground. Also: a projecting course of blocks or bricks in a wall above ground level, by which the part of the wall above is made to be set back in relation to the part below; = plinth course n. at Compounds 2.
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society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > disposition of stones or bricks > [noun] > single layer on same level > types of
grass tablea1472
coping1601
tableting1610
plinth1640
plinth course1693
stretching-course1700
bench1730
binding1730
earth table1822
lacing course1833
vertical bond1833
rowlock1864
cope1880
soldier course1948
1640 in R. Willis & J. W. Clark Archit. Hist. Univ. Cambr. (1886) I. 97 Plinth and Ground-table for ye South Range.
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Cordon..In Architecture, a Plinth, or edge of Stone on the out-side of a Building.
1776 G. Semple Treat. Building in Water 137 The Plinth and Cord.
1823 P. Nicholson New Pract. Builder 312 A Plinth, in masonry, is the first stone inserted above the ground.
1842 J. Gwilt Encycl. Archit. Gloss. 1017 In a wall the term plinth is applied to two or more rows of bricks which project from the face.
1878 R. B. MacVittie Details Restoration Christ Church Cathedral Dublin 66 Springing from a plinth which runs round the building.
1904 Essex Rev. 13 215 The house is timber-framed in oak, standing on plinth of brick and septaria.
1968 W. G. Nash Brickwork II. v. 112 Let the bonding below the plinth be bonded to suit the neat work.
1988 A. Johnson Converting Old Buildings (BNC) These mills..sometimes have a tarred brickwork plinth with the wooden structure painted white.
2004 Observer (Nexis) 14 Nov. 10 To stop the mud being washed away, it has to be protected top and bottom, with, respectively, a corrugated iron lid,..and a stone plinth, to stop rising damp.
d. figurative and in extended use. Something resembling or suggestive of a plinth in shape or function.
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the world > space > relative position > low position > [noun] > condition of being placed under > that which lies under > base on which a thing rests > plinth-like
perronc1380
plinth1803
1803 H. Repton Observ. Landscape Gardening vi. 86 A..terrace..forms a base line or deep plinth.
1897 M. Kingsley Trav. W. Afr. 405 Its surrounding plinth of rock shows in places at low water.
1904 R. J. Farrer Garden of Asia xvi. 150 That glorious cone towering up into the sky from its plinth of hills.
1994 Wisden Cricket Monthly June 7/2 Crowe must be top of the plinth in the All-Black batsmen's all-time hall of fame.
2. Architecture.
a. The flat slab at the top of a column, supporting the architrave; the abacus of the capital of a column.
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > column > [noun] > capital > parts of
abacus1563
echinus1563
plinth1563
fusarole1664
fuse1715
coussinet1728
rind1728
abaciscus1778
horn1847
1563 J. Shute First Groundes Archit. sig. Civ The Capital..hath vpon Echinus a littel edge, which seteth forth Plinthus with a more beautiful Proiecture.
1592 R. Dallington tr. F. Colonna Hypnerotomachia f. 20v The Plynthes whereon the chapters did stand wrought with winding and turning workes..in the hollowing of the Abac or Plynth.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Abaque, a Plinth, or flat square Stone, on the Capitell of a pillar.
1664 J. Evelyn Acct. Archit. in tr. R. Fréart Parallel Antient Archit. 129 A Corona or drip to the Capitel, whereof it is the Plinth and Superior.
1726 G. Leoni tr. L. B. Alberti Architecture II. 45/2 Over the Capitals of their Columns another Abacus or Plinth.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) Vitruvius calls the Tuscan Abacus, Plinth, from its resembling a square Brick.
1890 Cent. Dict. Plinth,..an abacus.
1999 J. S. Curl Dict. Archit. (at cited word) Plinth,..abacus (Plinthus) of the Greek Doric Order.
b. The flat projecting part of a wall immediately beneath the eaves of the roof; a blocking-course. Now rare.In quot. 1728: a platband (platband n. 1a).
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > other elements > [noun] > cornice > part of
plinth1610
modenature1664
1610 S. Daniel Tethys Festival sig. Fv Vpon eyther side was a Plinth directly ouer the pillers, & on them were placed, for finishings, two Dolphins of siluer.
1613 G. Chapman Memorable Maske Inns of Court sig. a1 A..Temple..whose Pillars..bore vp an Architraue, Freese, and Cornish: Ouer which stood a continued Plinthe; whereon were aduaunc't Statues of siluer.
1676 Proc. Soc. Antiq. Scotl. 14 336 The doore..with ane plint above the cornise.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) Plinth of a Wall..in the general, for any flat high Moulding, serving in a front Wall to mark the Floors; or to sustain the Eaves of a Wall, and the Larmier of a Chimney.
1863 J. Paterson Hist. Ayr & Wigton I. 216 The plinth [printed: pluith]at the top of the walls was composed of the same material.
1952 Builder 20 June 942/4 Plinth, (masonry) eaves course, or wall head course.
1999 J. S. Curl Dict. Archit. (at cited word) Plinth,..eaves-course.
3. A shallow wooden or plastic cabinet in which a record deck is mounted.
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society > communication > record > recording or reproducing sound or visual material > sound recording and reproduction > sound recording or reproducing equipment > [noun] > record-playing equipment > mounting for record deck
plinth1963
1963 Hi-Fi Year Bk. 35 Both the GL58 and GL70 are now available on plinths.
1975 Gramophone Sept. 537/2 The model BDS80 is the first of the new BSR Belt Drive Series of transcription turntables; the unit under review was delivered already mounted in a plinth.
1993 What Hi-Fi? Oct. 40/2 I don't think the subchassis is out of alignment with the plinth causing the belt to vibrate.
Compounds
C1.
plinth-shaped adj.
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1875 H. G. Liddell Greek-English Lexicon 1196/3 A plinth-shaped body, a chest.
C2.
plinth block n. a large block of masonry forming part of the base of the moulding of a door or window.
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society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > window or door > [noun] > window- or door-sill
sole1419
plinth block1857
1857 Appletons' Cycl. 310 All the doors to have..inch double rebated, moulded and panelled jambs..and plinth blocks.
1932 F. L. Wright Autobiogr. ii. 138 The whole exterior was bedeviled..with corner-boards, panel-boards, window-frames, corner-blocks, plinth blocks, rosettes, fantails, ingenious and jigger work in general.
1994 Denver Post 9 Jan. g12/1 You will be captivated by..the plinth-block transition trim.
plinth course n. a projecting line of blocks or bricks in a wall immediately above ground level, serving to guard against damp, provide extra defence, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > disposition of stones or bricks > [noun] > single layer on same level > types of
grass tablea1472
coping1601
tableting1610
plinth1640
plinth course1693
stretching-course1700
bench1730
binding1730
earth table1822
lacing course1833
vertical bond1833
rowlock1864
cope1880
soldier course1948
1693 C. Wren in Wren Soc. (1937) 14 118 For 41 1/2ft of Plinth Cource upon the Attiq.
1749 J. Wood Ess. Descr. Bath (ed. 2) II. 430 The Fabrick thus elevated Extends upon the Plinth Course of Stone one hundred and forty seven Feet in Length, by eighty Feet in Breadth.
1873 F. Rogers Specifications Pract. Archit. ii. xxv. 375 All plinth courses, jambs of doors and windows, and window-sills, strings, and chimney-cappings to be in red moulded bricks.
1997 Amer. Jrnl. Archaeol. 101 495/2 The plinth course was selected for study since it exhibits a wide range of weathering rates.
plinth stone n. a block of masonry forming part of a plinth or plinth course.
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1895 T. Hardy in Harper's New Monthly Mag. Feb. 351/1 You've been a-settin' a long time on that plinth-stone, young man. What med you be up to?
1906 Jrnl. Hellenic Stud. 26 207 A few of these plinth stones are still in position.
1987 Britannia 18 148 The plinth stones for two column bases were found in situ spaced some 4.50 m apart.
Derivatives
ˈplinthless adj.
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1898 J. F. Curwen Hist. Descr. Levens Hall 13 The square plinthless but embattled tower.
1975 Jrnl. Hellenic Stud. 95 289/2 The plinthless variety also found at Olympia is not yet attested in Attica until LG II.
1999 Evening Standard (London) (Nexis) 24 Sept. 36 Anthony Caro's plinthless sculpture.
ˈplinthlike adj.
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1905 Harper's Mag. July 195/1 Those short, stubbed girls and women..were of plinthlike bigness up and down.
1957 Geogr. Jrnl. 123 467 Plinth-like slopes at the base of higher ground, where surfaces are hard and sheet erosion active, are practically devoid of vegetation.
2002 Art in Amer. (Nexis) 90 172 In the Tate work, a vase of white calla lilies immersed in liquid silicon rests in a plinthlike freezer unit.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1563