Meanings
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1
noun
the lower part of an interior wall when it is decorated or finished differently from the area above it
A painted dado ran around the dining room beneath the patterned wallpaper.
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2
noun
a rectangular groove cut across a board to receive the edge of another piece
The carpenter cut a dado across each side panel to support the shelf.
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3
noun
the blocklike middle section of a pedestal, between its base and upper molding
The sculptor's name was carved into the dado of the pedestal.
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4
verb
to cut a dado in a piece of wood or join wood by means of one
The cabinetmaker dadoed the uprights before fitting the shelves.
Thesaurus
Etymology
Borrowed from Italian dado ("die; plinth"). The architectural term first named the blocklike central part of a pedestal and then the similarly proportioned lower section of an interior wall.