# What's the word? It's not a bay, not a turret, not a copula, not a bow, not an oriel
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-word-its-not-a-bay-not-a-turret-not-a-copula-not-a-bow-not-an-oriel/491810
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [April 3, 2009, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-word-its-not-a-bay-not-a-turret-not-a-copula-not-a-bow-not-an-oriel/491810 "2009-04-03T04:17:42Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@whatstheword](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whatstheword)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2009, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-word-its-not-a-bay-not-a-turret-not-a-copula-not-a-bow-not-an-oriel/491810/1 "2009-04-03T04:17:42Z")
Trying to remember this word is driving me, and all my family, crazy! I’m looking for a term for the architectural feature found in many Victorian era homes. It’s a rounded window recess, like a bay, but it encompasses the foundation, first, second, and sometimes third, stories, and the roof. And it’s round. Many times, these features jut out onto a covered porch, (usually a wrap-around). I’m looking for the old terminology that seems to be out of vogue these days, because I cannot find it anywhere. It was the term my mother used for this feature, and she was born in 1921. Then later, in the 1980’s when my friend graduated from real estate appraisal classes, he used the same term, but now the word escapes even him! There used to be quite a few of those old Victorian era homes still standing back home in the NC Appalachian Mountain area when I was growing up, but they fell to either ruin or progress as the years went by. Many were destroyed because it was too costly for the owners to bring them to electrical and plumbing codes, and in the 1960’s and 1970’s municipalities, along with insurance companies, saw them as dangers (for some reason, even though they were on private property!) and called for them to be demolished. What a shame! And now, I can’t remember the proper terminology for the most beautiful feature these old homes displayed. (I must be getting old!) Please help!!!
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### Author:  [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2009, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-word-its-not-a-bay-not-a-turret-not-a-copula-not-a-bow-not-an-oriel/491810/2 "2009-04-03T04:33:09Z")
Cupola?
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### Author:  [@Hakuna\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hakuna_Matata)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2009, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-word-its-not-a-bay-not-a-turret-not-a-copula-not-a-bow-not-an-oriel/491810/3 "2009-04-03T04:37:48Z")
It is tough to tell from your description–do you have a linked photo?
Are you talking about a Veranda? And are you referring to Queen Anne Victorian homes or ? There is a wide range of Victorian style architecture.
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### Author:  [@Hakuna\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hakuna_Matata)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2009, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-word-its-not-a-bay-not-a-turret-not-a-copula-not-a-bow-not-an-oriel/491810/4 "2009-04-03T04:41:29Z")
> **[55 Most Popular American House Styles & Architectures](https://oldhousesforsale.com/house-styles/)**
>
> Here's a complete A-Z list of the 55 most popular American house styles and architectures that people LOVE TO LIVE IN...
does it exist on this image?
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### Author:  [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2009, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-word-its-not-a-bay-not-a-turret-not-a-copula-not-a-bow-not-an-oriel/491810/5 "2009-04-03T04:47:40Z")
Perhaps you can find the term you’re looking for [here](http://www.artemisillustration.com/assets/text/Ornamental%20%20Terms_Glossary.htm)…?
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### Author:  [@Hakuna\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hakuna_Matata)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2009, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-word-its-not-a-bay-not-a-turret-not-a-copula-not-a-bow-not-an-oriel/491810/6 "2009-04-03T05:06:51Z")
Okay I found a wide variety of Queen Anne Victorian homes for you to look through–can you identify what you recall from any of these photos? Is it the recessed bay in image 15.
It is that term you used–recessed bay that has me confused I think. I can’t tell if you meant in a vertical application or a horizontal application. And you say it is not a bow window like this-- [Bow window](http://www.buffaloah.com/a/DCTNRY/b/bow.html)
If nothing else this web site has some beautiful homes you can look at!
> **[A Photo Gallery of Queen Anne Architecture](https://www.thoughtco.com/gallery-of-queen-anne-architecture-4065262)**
>
> From charming cottages to towered mansions, these photographs show the beauty and variety of Victorian Queen Anne style houses.
Sorry as an Architect, I love Victorian homes and you have me intrigued as to what you are trying to figure out.
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### Author:  [@2nd\_Law](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2nd_Law)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2009, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-word-its-not-a-bay-not-a-turret-not-a-copula-not-a-bow-not-an-oriel/491810/7 "2009-04-03T05:53:39Z")
If it looks like the house on this poster…
[http://www.southshoreartsonline.org/gifts/posters/contem/ctp160.jpg](http://www.southshoreartsonline.org/gifts/posters/contem/ctp160.jpg)
we call it a turret, but we’re open to suggestions.
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### Author:  [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2009, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-word-its-not-a-bay-not-a-turret-not-a-copula-not-a-bow-not-an-oriel/491810/8 "2009-04-03T06:05:57Z")
Virginia & Lee McAlester’s A Field Guide to AmericanHouses call it a tower and notes it as a distinctive feature of the Queen Anne style.
Carole Rifkin notes, in A Field Guide to American Architecture, that the adjective, (and sometime name), applied to the Queen Anne style was Chateauesque for “the steep hipped roof and the polygonal or cylndrical towers which are its dominant features.”
(Richardson Romanesque borrowed the tower as one of its features, but I could not find any explicit references to it using a unique name.)
The Wikipedia artical on the [Queen Anne Style](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Anne_Style_architecture) also calls it a tower.
Bow window might be used if the tower includes a wrap-around window, particularly if the window is actually curved.
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### Author:  [@hellpaso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hellpaso)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2009, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-word-its-not-a-bay-not-a-turret-not-a-copula-not-a-bow-not-an-oriel/491810/9 "2009-04-03T16:27:16Z")
A garrett?
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### Author:  [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2009, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-word-its-not-a-bay-not-a-turret-not-a-copula-not-a-bow-not-an-oriel/491810/10 "2009-04-03T16:29:04Z")
A widow’s walk?
StG
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### Author:  [@whatstheword](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whatstheword)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2009, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-word-its-not-a-bay-not-a-turret-not-a-copula-not-a-bow-not-an-oriel/491810/11 "2009-04-03T17:27:41Z")
I have a great photo, but don’t know how to link it. (I’m new to this board.)
Thanks!
> [@Hakuna\_Matata](#):
>
> It is tough to tell from your description–do you have a linked photo?
>
> Are you talking about a Veranda? And are you referring to Queen Anne Victorian homes or ? There is a wide range of Victorian style architecture.
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### Author:  [@whatstheword](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whatstheword)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2009, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-word-its-not-a-bay-not-a-turret-not-a-copula-not-a-bow-not-an-oriel/491810/12 "2009-04-03T17:34:02Z")
Okay, here’s one. They call this a study, but that’s not the word I’m stuck on… 🙂
[http://beehivestudio.typepad.com/beehive\_studio/images/2008/07/28/blog\_29\_victorian\_home\_2.jpg](http://beehivestudio.typepad.com/beehive_studio/images/2008/07/28/blog_29_victorian_home_2.jpg)
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### Author:  [@whatstheword](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whatstheword)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2009, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-word-its-not-a-bay-not-a-turret-not-a-copula-not-a-bow-not-an-oriel/491810/13 "2009-04-03T17:38:59Z")
This poster DOES have the exact window feature I’m trying to describe. Thanks for your response. The term still escapes me! We never called this a turret. But thanks anyway!!
> [@2nd\_Law](#):
>
> If it looks like the house on this poster…
>
> [http://www.southshoreartsonline.org/gifts/posters/contem/ctp160.jpg](http://www.southshoreartsonline.org/gifts/posters/contem/ctp160.jpg)
>
> we call it a turret, but we’re open to suggestions.
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### Author:  [@whatstheword](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whatstheword)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2009, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-word-its-not-a-bay-not-a-turret-not-a-copula-not-a-bow-not-an-oriel/491810/14 "2009-04-03T17:59:03Z")
YES!!! many of those lovely homes in your link have the exact feature i’m trying to describe, particularly #7, # 9 and #15. I remember my appraiser friend saying that if the window \*only \*is recessed, it’s called a bow, if the recessed area reaches all the way to the floor, it’s a bay, and if the recessed area has a foundation and a roof, and encompasses both stories, it’s called the mystery word!! I remember thinking, “Wow, my mom had it right!”
Thanks for the link. Beautiful homes!!
> [@Hakuna\_Matata](#):
>
> Okay I found a wide variety of Queen Anne Victorian homes for you to look through–can you identify what you recall from any of these photos? Is it the recessed bay in image 15.
>
> It is that term you used–recessed bay that has me confused I think. I can’t tell if you meant in a vertical application or a horizontal application. And you say it is not a bow window like this-- [Bow window](http://www.buffaloah.com/a/DCTNRY/b/bow.html)
>
> If nothing else this web site has some beautiful homes you can look at!
>
> [http://architecture.about.com/od/housestyles/ig/Queen-Anne-Houses/](http://architecture.about.com/od/housestyles/ig/Queen-Anne-Houses/)
>
> Sorry as an Architect, I love Victorian homes and you have me intrigued as to what you are trying to figure out.
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### Author:  [@whatstheword](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whatstheword)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2009, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-word-its-not-a-bay-not-a-turret-not-a-copula-not-a-bow-not-an-oriel/491810/15 "2009-04-03T18:08:26Z")
Thanks to all of you for your answers!! I love all the terminologies, and all the great photos, but I have not yet hit on that “Ah-Ha Moment”.
Other tems I have encountered are [_I]alcove_, study, studio, tower, turret, bay, cupola, oriel, seated window, well. \*.
The word I can’t remember must be a little archaic. I always thought it was probably colloquial until my real estate appraiser friend used the same term.
Thanks so much!! Maybe it will turn up!
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### Author:  [@Hakuna\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hakuna_Matata)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2009, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-word-its-not-a-bay-not-a-turret-not-a-copula-not-a-bow-not-an-oriel/491810/16 "2009-04-03T19:55:21Z")
I am glad you liked the photos–beautiful homes in my opinion, although I know many people think they are too much. But I enjoy them.
As to your question–I have always called them towers or turrets. It isn’t a Gazebo or a Pavilion because it is not freestanding. A Belvedere could be a turret, so is that the term?
Sorry I couldn’t be more help. I will think about it and if I get time ask a friend or two. Perhaps we can come up with the term.
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### Author:  [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2009, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-word-its-not-a-bay-not-a-turret-not-a-copula-not-a-bow-not-an-oriel/491810/17 "2009-04-03T21:52:11Z")
This reminds me of a short story I read a long time ago. It was about a rich girl who took a walk and ended up in a poor neighborhood. She was fascinated with the poor family and the kids she met. Not because they were poor, but because they seemed so rich to her. They had toys and wonderful things all over the front yard. They got to eat delicious food like hot dogs. And all this other stuff that seemed like the children must be so rich and so lucky.
Anyway, one of the things the kids did was go upstairs to play in the “MYSTERY WORD”. I am almost positive they used the word you’re looking for to describe the upper part of that thing. It was an old, dilapitated Victorian house so the top of the “MYSTERY WORD” was leaning and unstable. It was dangerous, but the kids enjoyed playing and jumping up there.
I dont know why I remember that, or why I can’t remember the name of the story, but there you go.
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### Author:  [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2009, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-word-its-not-a-bay-not-a-turret-not-a-copula-not-a-bow-not-an-oriel/491810/18 "2009-04-03T22:25:09Z")
Belfry? Although I don’t think that would be a correct term, I can see it being used.
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### Author:  [@Hakuna\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hakuna_Matata)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2009, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-word-its-not-a-bay-not-a-turret-not-a-copula-not-a-bow-not-an-oriel/491810/19 "2009-04-03T22:39:02Z")
Okay, consensus among my architectural friends was Tower or Turret. But one person came up with Conservatory and that might be what you are thinking? It is a glass enclosed structure, often circular in shape.
So is it a Conservatory?
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### Author:  [@2nd\_Law](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2nd_Law)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2009, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-word-its-not-a-bay-not-a-turret-not-a-copula-not-a-bow-not-an-oriel/491810/20 "2009-04-03T22:57:05Z")
> [@whatstheword](#):
>
> This poster DOES have the exact window feature I’m trying to describe. Thanks for your response. The term still escapes me! We never called this a turret. But thanks anyway!!
I’m not sure what the word is you’re looking for. The windows have curved glass, and from looking it up and tom’s post, apparently “bow window” is the generally accepted term, as is “tower” rather than “turret.”
I live in fear of the day I have to replace any of those curved windows, I imagine getting the glass would be pretty pricey.
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-word-its-not-a-bay-not-a-turret-not-a-copula-not-a-bow-not-an-oriel/491810.md?page=2)