The Probert Encyclopaedia of Architecture

ENTABLATURE

In architecture, the entablature is that part of a structure which is immediately above the column; also the distinguishing feature of the Greek styles. There are five distinct orders of entablature - Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian and Composite. The entablature is composed of three parts - the architrave, a stone or marble slab, the prototype of which was the square timber beam of the primitive structure; the frieze or middle member, subdivided into its minor parts; and the cornice, which, with its mouldings and ornaments, is the superior projection of the structure.
Research Entablature