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[aps]

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.

2. Astronomy.,  an apsis.

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/ æps, ˈæpsɪdəl, æpˈsaɪdəl /

noun

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

Other Word Forms

• apsidal adjective
• apsidally adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of apse¹

First recorded in 1815–25; variant of apsis

Word History and Origins

Origin of apse¹

C19: from Latin apsis, from Greek: a fitting together, arch, from haptein to fasten

Example Sentences

There is still scaffolding around much of the eastern end, and in coming years the outside walls of the apse and sacristy will need treatment.

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It was only possible to complete the apse, choir and transepts.

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Ross designed 12 solar prisms for the apses.

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He painted the triptych — the Lost Mural — in the apse of the building, as well as other murals in the synagogue’s interior.

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A second work with the same title, a painting in seven parts, is installed as an apse in an adjacent room.

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