What does valance mean?
A valance is a short, decorative curtain or fabric border hung around the upper edge of a window or across the top of a bed or similar piece of furniture. It softens the structure beneath it and adds color, pattern, or texture, so the word is often associated with domestic interiors, traditional furnishings, and careful visual finishing. In American English, valance is the usual term for the narrow window treatment. In British English, the related word pelmet is often preferred, although valance is also understood and is especially associated with an ornamental bed covering. As a verb, valance means to supply something with such a border or to form a valance around it. The term entered English through French and Medieval Latin, and its deeper Latin ancestry is connected with ideas of strength or value, though the precise development of the curtain sense is not entirely clear. Valance is useful for specifying a particular decorative function rather than simply calling the item a curtain or blind.
A short decorative curtain or fabric border hung around the upper edge of a window, bed, or similar piece of furniture.
"She hung a blue-and-cream valance across the top of the window."
Common in American English for the decorative treatment at the top of a window; British speakers frequently use pelmet instead.
To furnish or decorate something with a valance, especially around the top of a window, bed, or similar object.
"They valanced the bed in deep green velvet."
The standard plural of the noun; it may refer to several separate decorative borders or curtain treatments.
"The designer matched the blue valances in both guest rooms."
A valance turns the top of a window into a miniature stage, with a fabric border standing in for the proscenium.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of valance
English borrowed valance from French valance, which came through Medieval Latin valentia, a term recorded for a hanging or curtain around a bed. The Medieval Latin word is commonly traced to Latin valentia, meaning strength or power, and ultimately to valere, meaning to be strong, although the precise semantic route to the curtain sense is uncertain. The same Latin root underlies cognates including valid, valour, valor, and valence.
Related word forms
How valance is actually used
The noun is standard in American English and is also used in British English, where pelmet is often more common. The verb is considerably less common than the noun.
Easily confused with valance
A valance is a decorative fabric border, whereas valence is the capacity of an atom or ion to combine with other atoms or ions.