Molding
or MOULDING, in architecture, a term applied to all the varieties of outline or contour given to the angles of the various subordinate parts and features of buildings, whether projections or cavities, such as cornices, capitals, bases, door or window jambs and heads, etc.
There are eight sorts of regular moldings; viz. the ovolo, the talon, the cyma, the cavetto, the torus, the astragal, the scotia, and the fillet. The ovolo and MOLESKIN talon, from their peculiar form, seem intended to support other important moldings or members; the cyma and cavetto, being of weaker contour, should only be used for the cover or shelter of other parts; the torus and astragal, bearing a resemblance to a rope, appear calculated to bind and fortify the parts to which they are applied; the use of the fillet and scotia is to separate one molding from another, and to give a variety to the general profile.
In joinery: A mode of ornamentation by grooved or swelling bands, or forms following the line of the object. In mining, the ore found on the top of veins near the surface of the ground. In shipbuilding, giving the correct outline and depth to ship's timbers, etc.; it is one part of the operation of forming.