altarpiece

American  

[awl-ter-pees] / ˈɔl tərˌpis /

noun

1. a painted or carved screen behind or above the altar or communion table in Christian churches; reredos.

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altarpiece British  

/ ˈɔːltəˌpiːs /

noun

1. a work of art set above and behind an altar; a reredos

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Etymology

Origin of altarpiece

First recorded in 1635–45; altar + piece

Example Sentences

There the show continues with a series of additional paintings and altarpieces, as well as his work as a manuscript illuminator.

From The Wall Street Journal

The nature of optics, or how the eye sees as light’s conduit, is the focus of an altarpiece fragment by Giotto from the San Diego Museum of Art.

From Los Angeles Times

“I’m going to have these symbolic marigolds all the way around the building on the surface of the wall, like you would see in an altarpiece for the Day of the Dead,” Vargas said.

From Los Angeles Times

The wings, Israels said, would have been scraped off when the altarpiece was disassembled and the wing fragments would no longer have made sense.

From Seattle Times

Because of both their size and their age, the altarpieces could not be taken out of the museum during the building’s recent overhaul.

From New York Times