dado
/ˈdeɪdəʊ
/noun (plural dados)
1The lower part of the wall of a room, below about waist height, when decorated differently from the upper part.Wallcovering which covers the lower part of the wall, or dado, and ending at the chair rail height....
- This technique is best used on doors, paneling, dados, baseboards and also as a subtle wall finish.
- The room had dark wood panelling, cream paint above the dado, a muted silver ceiling, and comfortably padded brown leather chairs.
1.1 short for dado rail. dados were fixed to the wall to protect the plaster...
- The hall teams a pale oatmeal carpet with yellow tones above and below the dado, plain coving and stylish pendant lighting.
- The hall has black and white marble floor tiles, with shades of red above and below the dado.
- In its two hundred-odd rooms gold leaf covered every dado, while solid marble flagged every floor.
2North American A groove cut in the face of a board, into which the edge of another board is fixed: [as modifier]: a dado joint...
- Guide wood along the blade to make the dado grooves.
- Use a framing square to draw a line on the outside of the plywood for each dado joint so when finishing nails are used they will penetrate the shelves and not be visible on the inside.
- Check the plans for the specified depth and thickness of all your dado and rabbet cuts.
3 Architecture The part of a pedestal between the base and the cornice.We are therefore reminded of a pedestal of which the base, dado and cornice were alike, wholly clad in bronze.
Origin
Mid 17th century (denoting the main part of a pedestal, above the base): from Italian, literally 'dice or cube', from Latin datum 'something given, starting point' (see datum).