baldachin

[ bal-duh-kin, bawl- ]

/ ˈbæl də kɪn, ˈbɔl- /

noun

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.

Nearby words

bald, bald cypress, bald eagle, bald-faced, bald-faced hornet, baldachin, baldad, balder, balderdash, baldhead, baldheaded

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

Related formsbal·da·chined, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for baldacchino

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.)
Over the throne is a canopy or baldacchino the emblem of sovereignty.
Rome|Mildred Anna Rosalie Tuker
Two of the pillars of the baldacchino are of breccia-corallina.
Walks in Rome|Augustus J.C. Hare
That church porch is like the baldacchino over certain Roman high altars, or, more humbly, like a very large fourpost bedstead.
Limbo and Other Essays|Vernon Lee

This baldacchino was afterwards reconstructed with greater richness, and painted by Giorgio Vasari.
Lives of the Most Eminent Painters Sculptors and Architects|Giorgio Vasari

British Dictionary definitions for baldacchino

baldachin

baldaquin baldachino (ˌbɔːldəˈkiːnəʊ)

/ (ˈbɔːldəkɪn) /

noun

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

Word Origin for baldachin

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