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baldachin

[bal-duh-kin, bawl-]
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.
  3. 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
Related formsbal·da·chined, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for baldacchino

Historical Examples of baldacchino

  • The King took his seat under the baldacchino, with his Ministers on his left.

    The Eternal City

    Hall Caine

  • There is a baldacchino of wood over the altar, with urns upon its corners.

  • The baldacchino, erected in 1614, is supported by four porphyry columns.

    Walks in Rome

    Augustus J.C. Hare

  • Two of the pillars of the baldacchino are of breccia-corallina.

    Walks in Rome

    Augustus J.C. Hare

  • The most beautiful of these was probably the baldacchino which surmounted the high altar.

    Naples Past and Present

    Arthur H. Norway

British Dictionary definitions for baldacchino

baldachin

baldaquin baldachino (ˌbɔːldəˈkiːnəʊ)

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
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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