Arch. Commonly in pl. antæ. [L. antæ (no sing.), perh. f. ante before. Cf. ANTES.] A square pilaster on either side of a door, or at the corner of a building.
1751. Chambers, Cycl., s.v., The projecture of the Antæ should always equal that of the ornaments.
1837. Penny Cycl., VII. 220/1. The Greeks never employed antæ, except at an angle or the extremity of a wall…. Sometimes the Doric anta has a simple kind of moulding and groove at its foot.
Comb. anta-cap (pl. antæ-caps), the capital or top of an anta.
1837. Penny Cycl., VII. 220/1. [The Greeks] purposely gave to such pilasters, bases and antæ-caps dissimilar from those of the columns…. The Doric anta-cap is very simple, and its abacus and other mouldings much narrower than those of the column-capital.
