A lintel is a strong horizontal piece, usually of wood, stone, or metal, that lies across the top of a door or window to support the wall above it. It helps keep the opening from collapsing.
The word comes from Old French “lintel,” from Late Latin “limināle,” meaning “threshold,” related to Latin “līmen,” threshold. It originally referred to parts around doorways and entrances.
Lintels are one of the simplest ideas in architecture—just a beam across two posts—yet they appear in ancient temples and modern houses alike. Famous monuments like Stonehenge are basically giant lintels on oversized door frames.
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