Colonette


A colonette is a small slender column, usually decorative, which supports a beam or lintel. Colonettes have been used as a feature of furnishings such as a dressing table and case clock. According to Webster's Dictionary, they are typically found in "a group in a parapet, balustrade, or cluster pier". The term columnette has also been used to refer to thin columns.
Chartres Cathedral has a pilier cantonné with four colonettes attached to a large central core that support the arcade, aisle vaults and nave-vaulting responds.
The -ette suffix, from French language, is a diminutive.