Etymology Map
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Architrave

4 stages from Latin to English.

Today it means the beam resting on top of classical columns; the moulding around a door or window frame

Where does the word "architrave" come from? It comes from Latin trabs, passing through Italian and French before entering English (1560s).

1
Stage 1 of 4
trabs
Latin · ancient
"beam"
a wooden beam; architects still call post-and-beam building 'trabeated'
2
Stage 2 of 4
architrave
Italian · 1500s
"chief beam"
'archi-', chief, plus 'trave', beam; Sebastiano Serlio's architecture books of the 1530s and 1540s spread such terms across Europe
3
Stage 3 of 4
architrave
French · 1500s
"architrave"
French builders took it up with Italian Renaissance design
4
Stage 4 of 4
architrave
English · 1560s
"architrave"
arrived as John Shute's 'First and Chief Groundes of Architecture' (1563) introduced the classical orders to English readers
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Read the full story

Architrave’s story begins in Latin: trabs meant “beam.” A wooden beam; architects still call post-and-beam building 'trabeated'. By 1500s, the word had taken hold in Italian as architrave. 'archi-', chief, plus 'trave', beam; Sebastiano Serlio's architecture books of the 1530s and 1540s spread such terms across Europe. From there it passed into French as architrave by 1500s. French builders took it up with Italian Renaissance design. It reached English by 1560s as architrave. Arrived as John Shute's 'First and Chief Groundes of Architecture' (1563) introduced the classical orders to English readers. Today, architrave means the beam resting on top of classical columns; the moulding around a door or window frame.