basement v. cellar

A basement is an entire floor of a building located partially or completely below ground level. A cellar is an underground room used for storage or shelter (e.g., a root cellar, wine cellar, or storm cellar). Basements are sometimes finished, habitable spaces; cellars often aren’t. A cellar can be constructed as a discrete structure, but a basement is always underneath a building’s ground floor. A cellar may be considered to be a type of basement, or a room within a basement, or the two terms may be used interchangeably.

Wikipedia on basement

tepee v. wigwam

A tepee (also spelt teepee and tipi) is a portable conical tent made of wooden poles covered with animal hide or bark. Tepees were used as dwellings by nomadic Native American Plains Indians.

A wigwam is a domed house consisting of a ring of saplings that are set in the ground, bent over, bound at the top, and covered with matting, skins, or bark. Wigwam is an Algonquian term applied to such structures in the American Northeast; in the Southwest, they are called wickiups. Wigwams aren’t portable, and require more time to erect than tepees.

Native-Languages.org on tepee v. wigwam

Doric v. Ionic v. Corinthian

The 3 styles of classical Greek and Roman architecture are the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian orders. These orders are most easily distinguished by their columns. To recognize their differences, it helps to be familiar with a few architectural terms. A column consists of a long shaft sitting between a base at the bottom and a capital at the top. The horizontal beam that rests on the columns is called the entablature, which is divided into 3 horizontal layers. From bottom to top, they are the architrave, the frieze, and the cornice.

Additional Vocabulary

stylobate - the platform on which the columns rest

plinth - the lowest part of the base

moldings - contoured horizontal bands that separate other architectural elements

fluting - the shallow vertical grooves that run the length of the shaft

entasis - a slight bulge in the middle of a column

necking - a molding between the top of the shaft and the bottom of the capital

echinus - the convex molding on a Doric capital

abacus - the square block at the top of the capital that supports the entablature

volute - a spiral-shaped ornament on a capital

triglyph - 3 vertical bands separated by grooves

metope - a rectangular panel, sometimes with a sculptural relief

dentils - an ornamental series of small, tooth-shaped blocks in a cornice

Image courtesy of the University of Texas at Austin

Feature	Doric	Ionic	Corinthian
Overall appearance	Simple, heavy	Lighter and more decorative than Doric	Most slender and ornate
Earliest known usage	7th century BC	6th century BC	5th century BC
Column height to diameter ratio	7:1	8:1	9:1
Base	No	Yes	Yes
Flutes	20	24	24
Capital	Plain, round	2 volutes separated by egg and dart shaped ornaments	Elaborate, with rows of acanthus leaves below volutes
Entablature	Frieze with alternating triglyphs and metopes	Plain or sculptural frieze and dentils in the cornice	Plain or sculptural frieze and dentils in the cornice

 

Wikipedia on classical orders

Dummies.com on Doric v. Ionic v. Corinthian