Inarchitecture, ajamb (from French jambe 'leg'),[1] is the side-post or lining of adoorway or other aperture. The jambs of awindow outside the frame are calledreveals. Small shafts to doors and windows with caps and bases are calledjamb-shafts; when in the insidearris of the jamb of a window, they are sometimes calledscoinsons.[2]
Adoorjamb,door jamb, or sometimesdoorpost is the vertical portion of thedoor frame onto which adoor is secured.[3] The jamb bears the weight of the door through itshinges, and most types of door latches anddeadbolts extend into a recess in the doorjamb when engaged, making the accuracy of the plumb (i.e. true vertical) and strength of the doorjambs vitally important to the overall operational durability and security of the door.
The wordjamb is also used to describe a wing of a building, perhaps just inScottish architecture.John Adam added a 'jamb' to the oldLeith Customs house in theCitadel of Leith in 1754–1755.[4]
Inarches andvaults, thesoffit is the curved inner surface of the arch or vault located above the impost, as opposed to the outer surface called the arch or vault crest.[5]
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Jamb".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 135. | Thisarchitectural element–related article is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |