Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun In architecture, a mantelpiece. Also called
clavel .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Arch.) A mantelpiece.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun architecture A
mantelpiece .
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Compare French claveau centrepiece of an arch.
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Examples
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An 'the clavy wi' boughs o 'some bright green leaves,
Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect William Barnes
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[_Clavy_ was probably given to that piece of wood or other material laid over the front of the fireplace, because in many houses the keys are often hung on nails or pins driven into it; hence from _clavis_ (Latin) _a key_, comes _clavy_, the place where the keys are hung.]
The Dialect of the West of England; Particularly Somersetshire James Jennings
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