An oriel window is a form of bay window which protrudes from the main wall of a building but does not reach to the ground.[1] Supported by corbels, brackets, or similar cantilevers, an oriel window generally projects from an upper floor, but is also sometimes used on the ground floor.
Oriel windows are seen in Arab architecture in the form of mashrabiya and in Turkish are known as şahnişin or cumba. In Islamic culture, these windows and balconies project from the street-front of a house, providing an area in which women could peer out and see the activities below while remaining invisible.[2]
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term oriel is derived from Anglo-Norman oriell and Late Latin Latin: oriolum, both meaning "gallery" or "porch", perhaps from Classical Latin Latin: aulaeum ("curtain").