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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.
Astronomy. an apsis.
Origin of apse
1Other words from apse
- ap·si·dal [ap-si-dl], /ˈæp sɪ dl/, adjective
- ap·si·dal·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use apse in a sentence
On the contrary, it enhances their noble length, and at the same time improves the semicircle of the apses.
Cathedral Cities of Italy | William Wiehe CollinsThe little church is a very early specimen of Norman work on the plan of the letter T with three apses.
Cathedral Cities of Italy | William Wiehe CollinsThose in the apses are in the position of clerestory windows, their sills being level with the springing of the groining.
Some Account of Gothic Architecture in Spain | George Edmund StreetThe smaller apses have only one window, and are lower in proportion to the principal apse than is usually the case.
Some Account of Gothic Architecture in Spain | George Edmund StreetIt is cruciform, with five apses projecting from the eastern wall, that in the centre larger than the others.
Some Account of Gothic Architecture in Spain | George Edmund Street
British Dictionary definitions for apse
/ (æps) /
Also called: apsis a domed or vaulted semicircular or polygonal recess, esp at the east end of a church
astronomy another name for apsis (def. 1)
Origin of apse
1Derived forms of apse
- apsidal (æpˈsaɪdəl, ˈæpsɪdəl), adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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