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[aps]
noun
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.
RELATED WORDS
heart, cranny, hollow, dent, cubicle, depression, slot, angle, closet, cavity, nook, cell, crutch, fork, opening, alcove, cove, break, mouth, hole
Origin of apse
First recorded in 1815–25; variant of apsis
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for apse
Historical Examples of apse
This chapel was one of the most sunken and dark of the old Romanesque apse.
The DreamEmile Zola
However, it was these portions of the transept and the apse which had the least suffered.
The Three Cities Trilogy, CompleteEmile Zola
The apse, the last pillars, the giant piers themselves were felled!
The Three Cities Trilogy, CompleteEmile Zola
When we came into the choir and apse we found ourselves in the midst of complexity.
Out-of-Doors in the Holy LandHenry Van Dyke
"I am talking of the Apse family," he answered, courteously.
A Set of SixJoseph Conrad
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noun
Word Origin for apse
C19: from Latin apsis, from Greek: a fitting together, arch, from haptein to fasten
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper