2. A small apartment next a hall, where certain persons were
accustomed to dine; a sort of recess. [Obs.] --Cowell.
3. (Arch.) A bay window. See {Bay window}.
The beams that thro' the oriel shine Make prisms in
every carven glass. --Tennyson.
Note: 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.