val·ance / ˈvaləns; ˈvāləns/ • n. a length of decorative drapery attached to the canopy or frame of a bed in order to screen the structure or the space beneath it. ∎  a length of decorative drapery hung above a window to screen the curtain fittings. ∎  an indirect-lighting fixture extending along the top of an interior wall. ∎  a dust ruffle.DERIVATIVES: val·anced adj.

valance

valance.
1. Fall or edging of hanging drapery, e.g. around a baldacchino, canopy, or tester, really a pendent border, as that hung in front of curtain-rails in a room to conceal them and give a suitable finish. It is often simulated, as in the bronze valancing of Bernini's celebrated baldacchino in San Pietro, Rome (1624–33).

2. Vertical timber boards, often pointed or curved at the lower ends, finishing the eaves of the roofs above C19 railway-platforms.

Bibliography

Lewis & and Darley (1986)

valance drapery attached lengthwise and hanging down. XV. perh. — AN. *valance, f. valer lower, aphetic of (O)F. avaler (see -ANCE); or from the pl. of the prp. used sb.