Cor"bel (kôr"b&ebreve;l), n. [F. corbeau, for older corbel, dim. of L. corbis basket. (Corbels were often in the form of a basket.) See Corbeil.] (Arch.) A bracket supporting a superincumbent object, or receiving the spring of an arch. Corbels were employed largely in Gothic architecture.

&fist; A common form of corbel consists of courses of stones or bricks, each projecting slightly beyond the next below it.

Cor"bel, v. t. To furnish with a corbel or corbels; to support by a corbel; to make in the form of a corbel.

To corbel out, to furnish with a corbel of courses, each projecting beyond the one next below it.