corbel. Projection from the face of a wall, consisting of a block built into the wall, supporting any superincumbent load such as an arch, beam, parapet, truss, etc., so essentially a cantilever. Corbelling consists of successive courses of corbels forming a pseudo-vault or supporting an element projecting over the wall below, such as a tourelle. See also chequer-set and bartisan illustration (a).

cor·bel / ˈkôrbəl/ • n. a projection jutting out from a wall to support a structure above it.• v. (-beled, -bel·ing; chiefly Brit. -belled, -bel·ling) [tr.] (often be corbeled out) support (a structure such as an arch or balcony) on corbels.

corbel a projection jutting out from a wall to support a structure above it; a corbel table is a projecting course of bricks or stones resting on corbels. Recorded from late Middle English, the word comes from Old French, diminutive of corp ‘crow’, from Latin corvus ‘raven’, perhaps because of the shape of a corbel, resembling a crow's beak.

corbel (archit.) projection jutting from a wall to support a weight. XV. — OF. corbel (mod. corbeau) raven, also archit., dim. of †corp, corb :- L. corvus raven.