\O"ri*el\, n. [OF. oriol gallery, corridor, LL. oriolum
portico, hall, prob. fr. L. aureolus gilded, applied to an
apartment decorated with gilding. See {Oriole}.] [Formerly
written also {oriol}, {oryal}, {oryall}.]
1. A gallery for minstrels. [Obs.] --W. Hamper.
2. A small apartment next a hall, where certain persons were
   accustomed to dine; a sort of recess. [Obs.] --Cowell.
3. (Arch.) A bay window. See {Bay window}.
         The beams that thro' the oriel shine Make prisms in
         every carven glass.                   --Tennyson.
Note: There is no generally admitted difference between a bay
      window and an oriel. In the United States the latter
      name is often applied to bay windows which are small,
      and either polygonal or round; also, to such as are
      corbeled out from the wall instead of resting on the
      ground.