GLOSSARY.

1273
Egg and Tonguf;. OrnameDte iise<l in the ecliinus, supposed liy Quntrem^re de Qnincy
to have had their origin in the head of Isis, and, as he imagines, representing a mystical
collar or necklace of the mundane egg and the tongue of the serpent of immortality;
but as we think, in the representation of much more simple objects, those of nature
herself. , Sec Echinus.
EfiYPTiAN Aechitecture. In analysing the architecture of Egypt, three points offer
themselves for consideration ; construction, form, and decoration. If solidity be a.
merit, no nation has equalled the Egyptian. Uniformity of plan characterises all their
works ; they never deviated froni the straight line and square. The decorations
of the buildings were chiefly incised, or painted on plaster. The pyramids, temples,
obelisks, statues, and rock-cut tombs, all attest the duration of a style doomed to
become eternal.
Egyptian Uall. See CEcus.
El.hothesium. (6r. EAatoc, oil.) In ancient architecture, an apartment in the baths
wherein, after leaving the bath, the bathers anointed themselves.
Elastic Cuiive. In mechanics, the figure assumed by an elastic body, one end of which
is fixed horizontally in a vertical plane, and tlie other loaded with a weight which, by
its gravitj', tends to bend it.
Elasticity. (Gr. EAacrTij, a spring, from .\avvo}, I draw.) In physics, that property jios-
sessed by certain bodies of recovering their form and dimensions after the external
force which has dilated or compressed them is withdrawn. It is only perfect when
the body recovers exactly its primitive form after the force to which it has been sub-
jected has been removed, and that in the same time as was required for the force to
produce the alteration. This is however a quality not strictly found in nature.
Elbow. The upright side which flanks any panelled work, as in windows below the
shutters, &c.
Elevation. (Lat. Elevatio.) A geometrical projection drawn on a plane perpendicular
to the horizon.
Elizabethan Architecture. The name given to the mixed or debased, yet picturesque,
style of architecture prevailing during the reign of queen Elizabeth of England, caused
by the partial introduction of Italian art and its mixture with mediaeval details, with
the requirements of greater civilization, leading to the purer examples displayed by
Inigo Jones.
Ellipse or Ellipsis. (Gr. EAA6n|/i?, defect.) One of the conic sections produced by
cutting a cone entirely through the curved surface, neither parallel to the base, nor
making a subcontrary section
;
so that the ellipsis, like the circle, is a curve that returns
into itself and completely encloses a space.
Ellipsograph. An instrument for describing an ellipsis by continued motion.
Ellipsoid. See Conoid.
Elliptic Arch. A portion of the curve of an ellipsis employed as an arch.
Elliptic Compasses. The same as Ellipsograph.
Elliptic winding Stairs. Such as are cased in and wind round an elliptic newel.
Elm. (Lat. Ulmus.) A forest free occasionally used in building, principally for weather-
boarding to barns, and such-like sheds.
Embankment. A term signifying any large mound of earth on tlie sides of a passage for
water or other purposes
;
aUo for protection against the action of the sea. It is usually
constructed of earth, and, when necessary to resist much force, cjised with brick or stone.
Embattled. A wall indented with notches in the form of embrasures on the top of a wall,
parapet, or other buildmg. It is sometimes called crenellated.
Embattled
Aronade. See Aronade.
Embattled-battled
Line. A straight line bent into right angles, so that if there Jje
three sets of parts, one set may be parallel to those of the other two.
Embattled
Buildings. Those with embrasures in the parapets, resembling a castle or
fortified place.
Embossing or Embossed Work. (Fr. Bosse, a protuberance.) The raising or forming
in relievo any sort of figure, whether performed with the chisel or otherwise. It is a
kind of
sculpture, in which the figures rise from the plane on which they are formed,
and as they are more or less prominent they are said to be in alto, mezzo, or hastio riiievo.
Embrasure.
An opening made in the wall or parapetof a fortified place; it is also called
a. crenel.
The term is also applied to an enlargement within the sides of a window,
in wliich sense it is the same as Splay.
Emplecton. (Gr.
^ix-kX^kw, 1 entangle.) Among the ancients, a method of constructing
walls, in which, according to Vitruvius, the front stones were wrought fair and the
interior left rough and filled in with stones of A'arious sizes.
Encarpus.
(Gr. Ej/ and
Ka^>iros.) The festoons on a frieze, consisting of fruit, flowers,
leaves, &c.
Encaustic
Work. An ancient mode of painting, in which the execution was accorn-
pli.sheJ by the
application of iieat. It would appear as if one process consisted iu