baldachin
[bal-duh-kin, bawl-]
- Also baudekin. Textiles. a silk brocade interwoven with gold or silver threads, used chiefly for ceremonial purposes.
- Architecture. a permanent ornamental canopy, as above a freestanding altar or throne.
- a portable canopy carried in religious processions.
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Also bal·dac·chi·no, bal·da·chi·no [bal-duh-kee-noh] /ˌbæl dəˈki noʊ/, bal·da·quin.
Origin of baldachin
1250–1300; earlier baldakin < Medieval Latin baldakinus < Italian baldacchino, equivalent to Baldacc(o) Baghdad (famous as a source of silk brocades) + -ino -ine1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for baldacchino
Historical Examples
The King took his seat under the baldacchino, with his Ministers on his left.
The Eternal CityHall Caine
There is a baldacchino of wood over the altar, with urns upon its corners.
Great Ghost StoriesVarious
The baldacchino, erected in 1614, is supported by four porphyry columns.
Walks in RomeAugustus J.C. Hare
Two of the pillars of the baldacchino are of breccia-corallina.
Walks in RomeAugustus J.C. Hare
The most beautiful of these was probably the baldacchino which surmounted the high altar.
Naples Past and PresentArthur H. Norway
baldachin
baldaquin baldachino (ˌbɔːldəˈkiːnəʊ)
- a richly ornamented silk and gold brocade
- 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
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Word Origin
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
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