1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Finial

FINIAL (a variant of “final”; Lat. finis, end), an architectural term for the termination of a pinnacle, gable end, buttress, or canopy, consisting of a bunch of foliage, which bears a close affinity to the crockets (q.v.) running up the gables, turrets or spires, and in some cases may be formed by uniting four or more crockets together. Sometimes the term is incorrectly applied to a small pinnacle of which it is only the termination (see Epi).