dado — ODE · Shobdo

dado /ˈdeɪdəʊ

▸ noun

(plural dados)

1 the lower part of the wall of a room, below about waist height, when decorated differently from the upper part.

▪ short for dado rail:

dados were fixed to the wall to protect the plaster.

2 North American English a groove cut in the face of a board, into which the edge of another board is fixed:

[as modifier] a dado joint.

3 Architecture the part of a pedestal between the base and the cornice.

– ORIGIN mid 17th century (denoting the main part of a pedestal, above the base): from Italian, literally ‘dice or cube’, from Latin datum ‘something given, starting point’ (see datum).