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[ aps ]

/ æps /

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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.

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Origin of apse

First recorded in 1815–25; variant of apsis

OTHER WORDS FROM apse

ap·si·dal

[ap-si-dl], /ˈæp sɪ dl/, adjectiveap·si·dal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use apse in a sentence

Passing round the south face of the transept, we come to the apsidal chapel attached to its eastern wall.
Bell's Cathedrals: A Short Account of Romsey Abbey|Thomas Perkins
Opposite to this is one of the two apsidal chantries, which in its time has served various purposes.
Bell's Cathedrals: A Short Account of Romsey Abbey|Thomas Perkins
Traces of some external means of access to this apsidal chamber from below may be seen at the west side.
Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Ripon|Cecil Walter Charles Hallett
It will be noticed that at the south-east corner there is no apsidal chamber to correspond to that in the storey above.
Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Ripon|Cecil Walter Charles Hallett

East of the above window a square-headed doorway opens into the apsidal chamber enclosed by the corner buttress.
Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Ripon|Cecil Walter Charles Hallett

British Dictionary definitions for apse

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/ (æps) /

noun

Also called: apsis a domed or vaulted semicircular or polygonal recess, esp at the east end of a church

astronomy another name for apsis (def. 1)

Derived forms of apse

apsidal (æpˈsaɪdəl, ˈæpsɪdəl), adjective

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 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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Origin of apse

OTHER WORDS FROM apse

Words related to apse

How to use apse in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for apse

Derived forms of apse

Word Origin for apse