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Romanesque

 - 4 dictionary results

Ro⋅man⋅esque

  [roh-muh-nesk]
Use Romanesque in a Sentence
–adjective
1. noting or pertaining to the style of architecture prevailing in western or southern Europe from the 9th through the 12th centuries, characterized by heavy masonry construction with narrow openings, features such as the round arch, the groin vault, and the barrel vault, and the introduction or development of the vaulting rib, the vaulting shaft, and central and western towers for churches.
2. pertaining to or designating the styles of sculpture, painting, or ornamentation of the corresponding period.
3. (lowercase) of or pertaining to fanciful or extravagant literature, as romance or fable; fanciful.
–noun
4. the Romanesque style of art or architecture.
Origin:
1705–15; Roman + -esque; cf. F romanesque romantic
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Ro·man·esque   (rō'mə-něsk')   
adj.  

  1. Of, relating to, or being a style of European architecture containing both Roman and Byzantine elements, prevalent especially in the 11th and 12th centuries and characterized by massive walls, round arches, and relatively simple ornamentation.

  2. Of, relating to, or being corresponding styles in painting and sculpture.

n.  A Romanesque style of architecture, painting, or sculpture.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

Romanesque [(roh-muh-nesk)]

A style of architecture and art common in Europe between the ninth and twelfth centuries. It combined elements of the architecture typical of the Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire. The arches on Romanesque buildings are usually semicircular rather than pointed as in Gothic architecture.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

Romanesque 
1715, originally "descended from Latin" (cf. romance), later "architectural style in Europe between Roman and Gothic periods" (1819), from Roman (q.v.), influenced by Fr. romanesque, from L.L. Romanice "in Vulgar Latin" (see romance).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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