coving

Noun

1. A concave surface forming a junction between a ceiling and a wall.
   • Aluminium treadplate is used for the corridor, kitchen, and pantry floor, with aluminium covings. - 1960 March 5, “Restaurant Cars for British Railways”, in Railway Magazine, page 166:
   • The gilt lantern burned palely in the stairwell, but in the dining room the ordinary shadows deepened in the corners and hung like smoke in the coving of the ceiling. - 2004, Alan Hollinghurst, The Line of Beauty […],...
2. The vertical sides connecting the jambs with the breast of a fireplace.
3. A method of urban planning used in subdivision and redevelopment of cities characterized by non-uniform lot shapes.