| a building of exceptional height completely supported by a framework, as of girders, from which the walls are suspended, as opposed to a building supported by load-bearing walls |
| a series of regularly spaced columns supporting an entablature and usually making up one side of a roof |
coffer (ˈkɒfə) ![]() | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a chest, esp for storing valuables |
| 2. | (usually plural) a store of money |
| 3. | caisson, Also called: lacuna an ornamental sunken panel in a ceiling, dome, etc |
| 4. | a watertight box or chamber |
| 5. | a. short for cofferdam |
| b. a recessed panel in a concrete, metal, or timber soffit | |
| —vb | |
| 6. | to store, as in a coffer |
| 7. | to decorate (a ceiling, dome, etc) with coffers |
| [C13: from Old French coffre, from Latin cophinus basket, from Greek kophinos] | |
the receptacle or small box placed beside the ark by the Philistines, in which they deposited the golden mice and the emerods as their trespass-offering (1 Sam. 6:8, 11, 15).