baldachin

[ bal-duh-kin, bawl- ]
See synonyms for baldachin on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. Also baudekin. Textiles. a silk brocade interwoven with gold or silver threads, used chiefly for ceremonial purposes.

  2. Architecture. a permanent ornamental canopy, as above a freestanding altar or throne.

  1. a portable canopy carried in religious processions.

Origin of baldachin

1
1250–1300; earlier baldakin<Medieval Latin baldakinus<Italian baldacchino, equivalent to Baldacc(o) Baghdad (famous as a source of silk brocades) + -ino-ine1
  • Also bal·dac·chi·no, bal·da·chi·no [bal-duh-kee-noh], /ˌbæl dəˈki noʊ/, bal·da·quin.

Other words from baldachin

  • bal·da·chined, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use baldachin in a sentence

  • Soaring high up on four bronze columns ninety-four feet from the floor, the great baldacchino rises above all.

    Cathedral Cities of Italy | William Wiehe Collins
  • Over the throne is a canopy or baldacchino the emblem of sovereignty.

    Rome | Mildred Anna Rosalie Tuker
  • The royal chair and baldacchino had been removed, and their place was occupied by the usual bench of the President.

    The Eternal City | Hall Caine
  • The baldacchino is a glittering affair, forty or fifty feet high, and big enough for a mission church.

    Ireland as It Is | Robert John Buckley (AKA R.J.B.)
  • This baldacchino was afterwards reconstructed with greater richness, and painted by Giorgio Vasari.

British Dictionary definitions for baldachin

baldachin

baldaquin baldachino (ˌbɔːldəˈkiːnəʊ)

/ (ˈbɔːldəkɪn) /


noun
  1. a richly ornamented silk and gold brocade

  2. a canopy of fabric or stone over an altar, shrine, or throne in a Christian church or carried in Christian religious processions over an object of veneration

Origin of baldachin

1
Old English baldekin, from Italian baldacchino, literally: stuff from Baghdad, from Baldacco Baghdad, noted for its brocades

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