Definition of entasis in English:
entasis
nounPlural entases ˈɛntəsɪsˈɛn(t)əsəs
Architecture A slight convex curve in the shaft of a column, introduced to correct the visual illusion of concavity produced by a straight shaft.
Example sentencesExamples
- The pillars of the exterior exhibit batter (lean slightly inward) and entasis (slight convex curvature near the middle).
- Not only does this polysemy make it an enigmatic signifier, but the computer-perfected entasis makes it a good example of propositional beauty - the central planned skyscraper with elegant double curves shooting to the sky.
- The entasis of this skyscraper, like that of a Doric column, leads to a new kind of propositional beauty, one worked out digitally.
- This taper - the term for it is entasis - infuses the column with vitality.
- I have to use this entasis, because if you let the edges go straight, the frontal plane of the painting will shoot out at the corners.
Origin
Mid 17th century: modern Latin, from Greek, from enteinein 'to stretch or strain'.