abat-jour

Meaning

Noun

• A skylight, or any beveled aperture made in the wall of an apartment or in a roof, for the better admission of light from above.
• A sloping, box-like structure, flaring upward and open at the top, attached to a window on the outside, to prevent those within from seeing objects below, or for the purpose of directing light downward into the window.

Origin

• French abattre jour any contrivance or apparatus to admit light, or to throw it in a desired direction, as a lamp-shade