1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Style (column)

STYLE (from Gr. στῦλος, a column; a different word from that used in literature, see below), in architecture, the term used to differentiate between its characteristics in various countries and at different periods (see Architecture). The derivation of the word suggests that it was at first employed to distinguish the classic styles, in which the column played the chief part, and it would be more appropriate to speak of the Doric and Ionic styles than orders (q.v.). In the Assyrian, Sassanian and perhaps the Byzantine styles, the column was a secondary feature of small importance, whereas the Greek, Doric and Ionic styles are based completely on the column and the weight of the superstructure it was required to carry. In France the term is sometimes employed of the individuality of character which is found in an artist’s work. For the use of the term “style” in botany see Flower.