Glossary · E
Entasis
The slight convex swelling given to a column shaft so that it does not look pinched or concave. Vignola’s method keeps the lower third straight and curves the rest.
See also: Diminution
Rules that use the word
The Greek entasis: a barely perceptible swelling. Give the shaft a continuous convex curve from base to necking, departing from a straight taper by only a few hundredths of a diameter, so that the column seems to flex under its load rather than to pinch.
Vignola’s entasis: straight for a third, curved above. Keep the lowest third of the shaft cylindrical; above it, reduce the radius along a curve found by dividing a quarter-circle and the upper two-thirds of the shaft into the same number of equal parts.
Where it appears in the book
In the chapters The Anatomy of an Order, The Doric Order, China, Japan and Korea.
A feature of Ancient Greek, Korean architecture.
Nearby in the glossary
Enfilade · Engawa · English bond · Entablature · Equilateral arch · Espalier · Esquisse · Eustyle