Definition of "archivolt" [ar•chi•volt]

• A decorative molding carried around an arched wall opening. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The archivolt that sat above the twenty-foot entrance was inlaid with exquisite gold Arabic calligraphy and the monograms of Sultans Mehmed II and Abdul Aziz I."
• "An early 12th century church archivolt has an Arthurian scene, perhaps carved by a Breton, that labels Guinevere as 'Winlogee.'"
• "The same team also produced a plaster cast of the archivolt of the first and second niche of the fountain's back wall, of which many parts are missing, to serve as a model for carving these elements."