squinch
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English[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
Alteration of earlier scunch (“back part of the side of an opening”),[1] short for scuncheon.[2][3]
Noun[edit]
squinch (plural squinches)
- (architecture) A structure constructed between two adjacent walls to aid in the transition from a polygonal to a circular structure, as when a dome is constructed on top of a square room.
Translations[edit]
structure between walls to transition to circular
Etymology 2[edit]
Uncertain.[3] Probably blend of squint + pinch.[2][1] Compare squink-eyed, variant of squint-eyed, so perhaps it is at least partly an altered form of squint.[4]
Verb[edit]
squinch (third-person singular simple present squinches, present participle squinching, simple past and past participle squinched)
- (transitive) To scrunch up (one's face, etc.).
- 2008 March 15, Gail Collins, “George Speaks, Badly”, in New York Times[1]:
- The president squinched his face and bit his lip and seemed too antsy to stand still.
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 “squinch”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 “squinch”, in Collins English Dictionary.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 “squinch”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “squinch”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
See also[edit]
- squinch owl (possibly etymologically related)
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