Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Acroterium

Acroterium (-um) , noun

[Latin, from Greek 'akrwth`rion summit, from 'a`kros topmost.]

(a)
(Architecture) One of the small pedestals, for statues or other ornaments, placed on the apex and at the basal angles of a pediment. Acroteria are also sometimes placed upon the gables in Gothic architecture.
(b)
(Architecture) One of the pedestals, for vases or statues, forming a part roof balustrade. — J. H. Parker