cornice
KOR-nis
An overhanging mass of wind-deposited snow at the edge of a ridge or peak. Cornices build outward from the windward side, creating a false edge — what looks like solid ground may be an unsupported shelf of snow over empty air.
Etymology
French, from Italian cornice (ledge, frame), ultimately from Latin cornix (crow) or Greek korōnis (curved). In architecture, the projecting ledge at the top of a building.
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