alcove

[al-kohv]

See more synonyms for alcove on Thesaurus.com

noun

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.

Origin of alcove

1670–80; < French alcôve < Spanish alcoba < Arabic al-qubbah the dome

Synonyms for alcove

See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com

nook, bay.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for alcove

compartment, cubicle, niche, recess, study, bay, bower, cubbyhole, corner, anteroom

Examples from the Web for alcove

Historical Examples of alcove

When, at that instant, he saw the curtain of the alcove slightly stirred.
Night and Morning, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
Dick, spurred by impulse, left his alcove and entered the room.
The Rock of Chickamauga
Joseph A. Altsheler
It looked as if she was concealing the thoughts that made her rigid in the darkness of the alcove.
Therese Raquin
Emile Zola
The alcove grows so hot, too, at night that I shall be obliged to lie on the couch.'
Abbe Mouret's Transgression
Emile Zola
Ben Aboo had tried to follow them, but he had been killed in the alcove of the patio.
The Scapegoat
Hall Caine

British Dictionary definitions for alcove

alcove

noun

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

Word Origin for alcove

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

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."