n. [ OF. oriol gallery, corridor, LL. oriolum portico, hall, prob. fr. L. aureolus gilded, applied to an apartment decorated with gilding. See Oriole. ] [ Formerly written also oriol, oryal, oryall. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. A gallery for minstrels. [ Obs. ] W. Hamper. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A small apartment next a hall, where certain persons were accustomed to dine; a sort of recess. [ Obs. ] Cowell. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Arch.) A bay window. See Bay window. [ 1913 Webster ]

The beams that thro' the oriel shine
Make prisms in every carven glass. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ There is no generally admitted difference between a bay window and an oriel. In the United States the latter name is often applied to bay windows which are small, and either polygonal or round; also, to such as are corbeled out from the wall instead of resting on the ground. [ 1913 Webster ]