An ornamental border or frame around a doorway or window, especially in French architecture and decoration.
From French 'chambranle', possibly from 'chambre' (chamber) with an unknown second element. Used in architectural terminology for decorative door and window surrounds.
The word 'chambranle' shows how French architectural vocabulary traveled into English—it's purely decorative and existed only to make doorways more beautiful, which tells you about medieval values: even frames mattered aesthetically.
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