alcove
[al-kohv]
- a recess or small room adjacent to or opening out of a room: a dining alcove.
- a recess in a room for a bed, bookcases, or the like.
- any recessed space, as a bower in a garden.
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Origin of alcove
1670–80; < French alcôve < Spanish alcoba < Arabic al-qubbah the dome
Synonyms
See more synonyms for alcove on Thesaurus.comnook, bay.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for alcove
Historical Examples
When, at that instant, he saw the curtain of the alcove slightly stirred.
Night and Morning, CompleteEdward Bulwer-Lytton
Dick, spurred by impulse, left his alcove and entered the room.
The Rock of ChickamaugaJoseph A. Altsheler
It looked as if she was concealing the thoughts that made her rigid in the darkness of the alcove.
Therese RaquinEmile Zola
The alcove grows so hot, too, at night that I shall be obliged to lie on the couch.'
Abbe Mouret's TransgressionEmile Zola
Ben Aboo had tried to follow them, but he had been killed in the alcove of the patio.
The ScapegoatHall Caine
alcove
- a recess or niche in the wall of a room, as for a bed, books, etc
- any recessed usually vaulted area, as in a garden wall
- any covered or secluded spot, such as a summerhouse
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Word Origin
C17: from French alcôve, from Spanish alcoba, from Arabic al-qubbah the vault, arch
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
Word Origin and History for alcove
n.
1670s, "vaulted recess," from French alcôve (17c.), from Spanish alcoba, from Arabic al-qobbah "the vaulted chamber," from Semitic base q-b-b "to be bent, crooked, vaulted."
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper