D

DADO. An architectural arrangement of mouldings round the lower part of the walls of a room, resembling a continuous pedestal, often functional in keeping the backs of chairs from a wall surface.

DAGABA. (Indian). A Singhalese form of stupa, or relic chamber.

DAGGA. See under DAKA.

DAGSOME. (Afrikaans). See under REVEALS.

DAKA. An indigenous term used to signify wet clay. It is used as a wall-building material, as floor packing, as daub or, if mixed with cow-dung, as a finishing plaster. More correctly spelt udaka, it is pronounced as daga with a hard "g". Although it is sometimes given as dagga or dagha, it should not be confused with dagga, the local slang term for marijuana.

DAKKAMER. (Afrikaans). Dutch, meaning roof room. Small attic room located behind the façade gable of a Cape Dutch town house. Stands distinct from the rural zolder in that it was normally accessed via an internal stair.

DAKKAP. (Afrikaans). See under ROOF TRUSS.

DAKLAT. (Afrikaans). See under BATTEN.

DAKMUURPLAAT. (Afrikaans). See under WALL PLATE.

DAKOOGVENSTER. (Afrikaans). See under EYEBROW DORMER

DAKPAN. (Afrikaans). See under PAN TILE or ROOF TILE.

DAKPANLIGGING. (Afrikaans). Also referred to as a Skubpatroon. See under IMBRIGATION.
DAKRAND. (Afrikaans). See under EAVES.

DAKSPAN. (Afrikaans). See under SHINGLE.

DAKSPAR. (Afrikaans). Also known as a Kapspar. See under RAFTER.

Danda. (tshiVenda). A roof rafter.

DEKGRASHAAK. (Afrikaans). See under HOOK.

DEKGRAS. (Afrikaans). See under GRASS THATCH.

DEKGRASLAAG. (Afrikaans). A thatching term which, in English, translates to a Course.

DEKGRASMATWERK. (Afrikaans). See under Matting, as used in the construction of indigenous domestic structures.

DEKGRASTOU. (Afrikaans). See under THATCHING TWINE.

DEKRIET. (Afrikaans). See under REED THATCH.

DEKKERSBALK. (Afrikaans). See under THATCHING HORSE.

DEKKERSNAALD. (Afrikaans). See under STITCHING NEEDLE.

DEKLAAG. (Afrikaans). See under COPING.

DEKSPAAN. (Afrikaans). Also known as a dekspan or a grasdekspan. See under LEGGETT or THATCHING PADDLE.

DEKSPAN. (Afrikaans). More generally known to rural thatchers as idekspan, it is the Dutch name for a combed leggett. Sometime also spelt Dekspaan.

DEKSPARHAK. (Afrikaans). See under SPAR HOOK.

DEUL. (Indian). The residence of the deity; the main shrine of a Hindu temple and its superstructure; the vimana. Sometimes used to refer to the temple as a whole, including its mandapas. Used especially in Orissan architectural terminology. Similar terms include devakula, devagara, devagrha, and devalaya).

DEURSKARMER. (Afrikaans). See under BUTT HINGE.

DEVAKOSTHA. (Indian). A niche on the exterior of the wall of a southern-style Hindu temple containing an image of a deity or, sometimes, other figures.

DEVA-KULIKA. (Indian). A variant of devakula (see deul). Often used to refer to the small cells containing sacred images in the cloister surrounding a temple.

DHVAJA. (Indian). A standard, banner, flag, or pole. A form and symbol used universally in Indic religions.

DHVAJA STAMBHA. (Indian). A pillar, standard or flagstaff.

DIAMANT. (Afrikaans). See under QUARREL.

DIFAQANE. Sotho/Tswana term meaning literally "the scattering of the people". It refers to the period of internecine warfare which took place in southern Africa between 1822 and 1837. See also MFECANE.

Dikgeru. (sePedi). Pathway leading up to an entrance.

Dikokwane. (sePedi). Timber post.

Dipallo. (sePedi). A batten.

DOLLY. See under ROLL. (Afrikaans: nokbondel).

DOME-ON-CYLINDER. Rural dwelling form found in those areas of southern Africa where beehive dwellings have or are still being built. It comprises of a drum wall varying in height between 600mm and 1600mm, roofed over with a hemispherical dome roof. It is not an efficient structure and represents a transitional stage of evolution between the beehive dome and the cone on cylinder dwelling.

DOMESTIC UNIT. General term used to define the homestead of a wife in a polygamous union where she is allotted her own living space comprising one or more dwelling units set within their own system of courtyards. (Afrikaans: meervoudige wooneenheid).

DORMER WINDOW. A vertical window in a sloping roof, usually that of a sleeping apartment, hence the name. (Afrikaans: solderkamervenster).

DOUBLE PILE HOUSE. Rectangular domestic structure two rooms deep. The two are often separated by a corridor running the length of the house.

DRAVIDA. (Indian). One of the three major styles of Hindu architecture, also known as the Southern style.

DRIP. Groove in the soffit of a projecting moulding, permitting condensed moisture to drop. (Afrikaans: drupgroef).

DRIPSTONE. See under HOOD MOULD. (Afrikaans: druplys or kaplys).

DROSTDY. Noun applied during the Dutch colonial era to the residence of the Landdrost or regional magistrate. Derived from the German drost being a title given to the governor of a province, it disappeared in the Cape in 1828.

DRUMPEL. (Afrikaans). See under CILL, as applied to plain openings and thresholds.

DRUPGROEF. (Afrikaans). See under DRIP.

DRUPLYS. (Afrikaans). Also referred to as Kaplys. See under DRIPSTONE, HOOD MOULD or LABEL MOULD.

DURGA. (Indian). A fort; obstacle difficult to access or impassable.

DVARATORANA. (Indian). An arch (torana) surrounding a doorway (dvara).

DVITALA. (Indian). A two-tiered superstructure on a southern-style Hindu temple.

DWARSBINT. (Afrikaans). See under CROSS COLLAR.

DWARSLAT. Dutch term for the timber battens used in the construction of Cape Dutch houses and farm structures.

DWARSROEISTEUN. (Afrikaans). See under SADDLE BARS.

DWELLING UNIT. General term used to define a single domestic structure, usually one-roomed, ranging in form from the grass beehive through to the flat-roofed highveld dwelling. (Afrikaans: wooneenheid)

Copyright @ francofrescura.co.za