What is "socle"

Socle \So"cle\, n. [F., fr. L. socculus, dim. of soccus. See Sock a covering for the foot. Cf. Zocco.] (Arch.)

1. A plain block or plinth forming a low pedestal; any base; especially, the base of a statue, column, or the like. See Plinth.

2. A plain face or plinth at the lower part of a wall.
   --Oxf. Gloss.

n. 1 (context architecture English) A low plinth or pedestal used to display a statue or other art work. 2 (context mathematics English) The sum of the minimal submodules of a given R-module of a given ring R. 3 (context mathematics group theory English) The subgroup generated by the minimal normal subgroups of a given group.

n. a plain plinth that supports a wall

Socle may refer to:

• Socle (mathematics), an algebraic object generated by minimal subobjects or by an eigenspace of an automorphism
• Socle (architecture), a plinth that supports a pedestal, statue, or column
• Socle Technology Corporation, a supplier of systems on a chip

In mathematics, the term socle has several related meanings.

In architecture, a socle is a short plinth used to support a pedestal, sculpture or column. In the field of archaeology, this term is used to refer to a wall base, frequently of stone, that supports the upper part of the wall, which is made of a different material, frequently mud brick. This was a typical building practice for ancient Greece, resulting in the frequent preservation of the plans of ancient buildings only in their stone-built lower walls, as at the city of Olynthos.