Word of the Day

cornice \KAWR-nis\,
noun:
1. a mass of snow, ice, etc., projecting over a mountain ridge.
2. Architecture. a. any prominent, continuous, horizontally projecting feature surmounting a wall or other construction, or dividing it horizontally for compositional purposes. b. the uppermost member of a classical entablature, consisting of a bed molding, a corona, and a cymatium, with rows of dentils, modillions, etc., often placed between the bed molding and the corona.
3. any of various other ornamental horizontal moldings or bands, as for concealing hooks or rods from which curtains are hung or for supporting picture hooks.
verb:
1. to furnish or finish with a cornice.

Then he tossed the bottle into that cornice of snow that dipped out over a ridge. But perhaps it was nothing more than the spring melt.
-- Sandra Dallas, "Whiter Than Snow," 2011

Even though a veteran may say that great snow equals a great day, beginner and novice cornice skiers should pay more attention to safety and skill preparation, and consider great snow a bonus.
-- John A. Yacenda and Tim Ross, "High-Performance Skiing-2nd," 1998

Cornice came to English from the Middle French corniche or from the Italian, largely popularized by the writings of Dante. The noun form entered the language two hundred years before the verb form in the mid-1500s.

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