Window Glossary

Awning window: An awning window is a window that is hung horizontally, hinged on top, so that it swings outward.
Bay window: A multi-panel window, with at least three panels set at different angles to create a protrusion from the wall line.it is commonly used in cold country where snow often falls. The panels are thus set in three different directions,from where a person would have a view from the interior of a building.

Casement window : A window with a hinged sash that swings in or out like a door comprising either a side-hung, top-hung, or occasionally bottom-hung sash or a combination of these types, sometimes with fixed panels on one or more sides of the sash.

Clerestory window: A vertical window set in a roof structure or high in a wall, used for daylighting.

Horizontal sliding sash window    : Has two or more sashes that overlap slightly but slide horizontally within the frame. In the UK, these are sometimes called Yorkshire sash windows, presumably because of their traditional use in that county.

French window: A French window, also known as a French door is really a type of door, but one which has one or more panes of glass set into the whole length of the door, meaning it also functions as a window.

Jalousie window: Also known as a louvered window, this window is comprised of parallel slats of glass or acrylic that open and close like a Venetian blind, usually using a crank or a lever. They are used extensively in tropical architecture. A jalousie door is a door with a jalousie window.

Oriel window: A window with many panels. It is most often seen in the typical Tudor-style house and monasteries. An oriel window projects from the wall and does not extend to the ground. Oriel windows originated as a form of porch. They are often supported by brackets or corbels. Buildings in the Gothic Revival style often have oriel windows.

Roof Window: A sloped window used for daylighting, built into a roof structure that is within reach.

Roof Lantern or Cupola   : A roof lantern is a multi-paned glass structure, resembling a small building, built on a roof for day or moon light. Sometimes includes an additional clerestory. May also be called a cupola.

Skylight: A flat or sloped window used for daylighting, built into a roof structure that is out of reach.

Single-hung sash window: One sash is movable (usually the bottom one) and the other fixed. This is the earlier form of sliding sash window, and is obviously also cheaper.

Tilt and slide: A window (more usually a door-sized window) where the sash tilts inwards at the top and then slides horizontally behind the fixed pane.

Tilt and turn: A window which can either tilt inwards at the top, or can open inwards hinged at the side.

Transom window : A window above a door; if an exterior door the transom window is often fixed, if an interior door it can often open either by hinges at top or bottom, or can rotate about hinges at the middle of its sides. It provided ventilation before forced air heating and cooling.