valance

plural valances · alternative valaunce · alternative valence · alternative vallance

1. A short curtain that usually hangs along the top edge of a window.

   Even the mantelpiece is adorned with a totally unfunctional tasselled valance rather like an altar frontal.

   1969, David G. Irwin, The Visual Arts, Taste and Criticism, page 27

2. A decorative framework used to conceal the curtain mechanism and so on at the top of a window.
3. A short, decorative edging of cloth that hangs from a bed, from beneath the mattress to the floor, used to conceal the box spring or space under the bed and prevent dust from accumulating there.

   Synonyms: dust ruffle, bedskirt, bed ruffle

4. A short, decorative edging of cloth that conceals the legs of a couch, sofa, etc.

   Mortally insulted, Jasper went under the couch, where he remained with only his nose showing beneath the valance, emitting little world-weary groans at intervals, and refusing to come out for cake.

   1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1962, →OCLC, page 145

5. automotiveA low-hanging auto body panel, below a front or rear bumper, whose purpose is aerodynamic and decorative but not structural (often valance panel).
6. The drooping edging of the lid of a trunk, which covers the joint when the lid is closed.