noun
1.
Architecture. a semicircular or polygonal termination or recess in a building, usually vaulted and used especially at the end of a choir in a church. See diag. under basilica.
2.
Astronomy. an apsis.
Related forms
sɪ ap·si·dal·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To apse
Collins
World English Dictionary
apse (æps) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | Also called: apsis a domed or vaulted semicircular or polygonal recess, esp at the east end of a church |
| 2. | astronomy another name for apsis |
| [C19: from Latin apsis, from Greek: a fitting together, arch, from haptein to fasten] | |
| apsidal | |
| —adj | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
00:10
Apse
is always a great word to know.
So is pavilion. Does it mean:
| a slablike member beneath the base of a column or pier or a square base of a pedestal |
| a projecting element of a fa?ade, used especially at the center or at each end and usually treated so as to suggest a tower |
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
apse
"semicircular extension at the end of a church," 1846, from L. apsis "an arch, a vault," from Gk. hapsis (Ionic apsis) "loop, arch," originally "a fastening, felloe of a wheel," from haptein "fasten together;" the original sense in Gk. seems to have been the joining of the arcs to form a circle, especially
in making a wheel. The architectural term is earlier attested in Eng. in the L. form (1706).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
Short transept arms and a semicircular apse subtly reinforce the cruciform shape of the building.
The east elevation is dominated by a rectangular apse.
The right-hand apse is covered by one of the red domes.
For now, the crossing and the chapels around the apse are open, reached through a shed that runs through the nave.
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