Window
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This article is about the part of a building. For the graphical user interface element, see Window
(computing). For the type of protocol, see Sliding window protocol. For other uses, see Window
(disambiguation) and Windows (disambiguation).
Various examples of windows
A window is an opening in a wall, door, roof, or vehicle that allows the passage of light
and may also allow the passage of sound and sometimes air. Modern windows are
usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent material, a sash set
in a frame[1] in the opening; the sash and frame are also referred to as a window. [2] Many
glazed windows may be opened, to allow ventilation, or closed, to exclude inclement
weather. Windows may have a latch or similar mechanism to lock the window shut or to
hold it open by various amounts.
Types include the eyebrow window, fixed windows, hexagonal windows, single-hung,
and double-hung sash windows, horizontal sliding sash windows, casement windows,
awning windows, hopper windows, tilt, and slide windows (often door-sized), tilt and turn
windows, transom windows, sidelight windows, jalousie
or louvered windows, clerestory windows, lancet windows, skylights, roof windows, roof
lanterns, bay windows, oriel windows, thermal, or Diocletian, windows, picture
windows, Rose windows, emergency exit windows, stained glass windows, French
windows, panel windows, double/triple-paned windows, and witch windows.
The Romans were the first known to use glass for windows, a technology likely first
produced in Roman Egypt, in Alexandria ca. 100 AD. Paper windows were economical
and widely used in ancient China, Korea, and Japan. In England, glass became
common in the windows of ordinary homes only in the early 17th century whereas
windows made up of panes of flattened animal horn were used as early as the 14th
century. In the 19th century American west, greased paper windows came to be used
by itinerant groups. Modern-style floor-to-ceiling windows became possible only after
the industrial plate glass making processes were fully perfected.
Contents
1Etymology
2History
3Types
o 3.1Cross
o 3.2Eyebrow
o 3.3Fixed
o 3.4Single-hung sash
o 3.5Double-hung sash
o 3.6Foldup
o 3.7Horizontal sliding sash
o 3.8Casement
3.8.1Awning
3.8.2Hopper
o 3.9Pivot
o 3.10Tilt and slide
3.10.1Tilt and turn
o 3.11Transom
o 3.12Side light
o 3.13Jalousie window
o 3.14Clerestory
o 3.15Skylight
o 3.16Roof
o 3.17Roof lantern
o 3.18Bay
3.18.1Oriel
o 3.19Thermal
o 3.20Picture
o 3.21Multi-lite
o 3.22Emergency exit/egress
o 3.23Stained glass
o 3.24French
o 3.25Double-paned
o 3.26Hexagonal window
4Terms
o 4.1Labeling
5Construction
o 5.1Grids or muntins
o 5.2Frame and sash construction
o 5.3Glazing and filling
o 5.4Other construction details
6Impact of the sun
o 6.1Sun incidence angle
o 6.2Solar window
o 6.3Passive solar
o 6.4Coverings
7Gallery
8See also
9References
10External links
Etymology[edit]
The English language-word window originates from the Old Norse 'vindauga', from
'vindr – wind' and 'auga – eye', i.e., wind eye.[3] In Norwegian Nynorsk and Icelandic the
Old Norse form has survived to this day (in Icelandic only as a less used word for a type
of small open "window", not strictly a synonym for gluggi, the Icelandic word for
window[4]), in Swedish the word vindöga remains as a term for a hole through the roof of
a hut, and in the Danish language 'vindue' and Norwegian Bokmål 'vindu', the direct link
to 'eye' is lost, just as for 'window'. The Danish (but not the Bokmål) word is pronounced
fairly similarly to window.
Window is first recorded in the early 13th century, and originally referred to an unglazed
hole in a roof. Window replaced the Old English eagþyrl, which literally means 'eye-
hole,' and 'eagduru' 'eye-door'. Many Germanic languages however adopted the Latin
word 'fenestra' to describe a window with glass, such as standard Swedish 'fönster',
or German 'Fenster'. The use of window in English is probably because of the
Scandinavian influence on the English language by means of loanwords during
the Viking Age. In English the word fenester was used as a parallel until the mid-18th
century. Fenestration is still used to describe the arrangement of windows within
a façade, as well as defenestration, meaning to throw something out of a window.
History[edit]
Fragment of a Roman window glass plate dated to 1st to 4th century A.D.
Note the obvious curvature; this is not a flat pane.
Alabaster "mullion"-divided decorative windows in Santa Maria La Major church (Morella, Spain).
Alabaster window in the Valencia Cathedral. Note the asymmetrical, slanted left side of the wall-frame, which
lets sun rays reach the chancel.
In the 13th century BC, the earliest windows were unglazed openings in a roof to admit
light during the day. Later,[when?] windows were covered with animal hide, cloth, or
wood. Shutters that could be opened and closed came next. [when?] Over time, windows
were built that both protected the inhabitants from the elements and transmitted light,
using multiple small pieces of translucent material, such as flattened pieces of
translucent animal horn, thin slices of marble, for example, fengite, or pieces of glass,
set in frameworks of wood, iron or lead. In the Far East, paper was used to fill windows.
[1]
The Romans were the first known to use glass for windows, a technology likely first
produced in Roman Egypt. Namely, in Alexandria ca. 100 AD cast glass windows, albeit
with poor optical properties, began to appear, but these were small thick productions,
little more than blown glass jars (cylindrical shapes) flattened out into sheets with
circular striation patterns throughout. It would be over a millennium before a window
glass became transparent enough to see through clearly, as we think of it now.
Over the centuries techniques were developed to shear through one side of a blown
glass cylinder and produce thinner rectangular window panes from the same amount of
glass material. This gave rise to tall narrow windows, usually separated by a vertical
support called a mullion. Mullioned glass windows were the windows of choice
among European well-to-do, whereas paper windows were economical and widely used
in ancient China, Korea and Japan. In England, glass became common in the windows
of ordinary homes only in the early 17th century whereas windows made up of panes of
flattened animal horn were used as early as the 14th century. [5]
Modern-style floor-to-ceiling windows became possible only after the
industrial plate glass making processes were perfected. Modern windows are usually
filled with glass, although a few are transparent plastic. [1]
