Dictionary

squinch en · NOUN · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /skwɪnt͡ʃ/

Etymology

Alteration of earlier scunch (“back part of the side of an opening”), short for scuncheon.

Meanings

1. A structure constructed between two adjacent walls to aid in the transition from a polygonal to a circular structure, as when a dome is constructed on top of a square room.

Forms

Translations (10)

fa فیلگوش (structure between walls to transition to circular) · ca trompa (structure between walls to transition to circular) · fa گوشه (structure between walls to transition to circular) · fa گوشواره (structure between walls to transition to circular) · es trompa (structure between walls to transition to circular) · de Trompe (structure between walls to transition to circular) · fr trompe (structure between walls to transition to circular) · fa سکنج (structure between walls to transition to circular) · ru тромп (structure between walls to transition to circular) · sv trompe (structure between walls to transition to circular)

squinch en · VERB · etymology 2

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /skwɪnt͡ʃ/

Etymology

Uncertain. Probably blend of squint + pinch. Compare squink-eyed, variant of squint-eyed, so perhaps it is at least partly an altered form of squint.

Meanings

1. (transitive) To scrunch up (one's face, etc.).
   • The president squinched his face and bit his lip and seemed too antsy to stand still. 2008 March 15, Gail Collins, “George Speaks, Badly”, in New York Times:

Forms

Deriveds

squinchy

Relateds

squinch owl