barrel vault

American  

noun

Architecture.

1. a vault having the form of a very deep arch.

---

barrel vault British  

noun

1. Also called: wagon vault.   tunnel vault.  architect a vault in the form of a half cylinder

---

Other Word Forms

• barrel-vaulted adjective

Etymology

Origin of barrel vault

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

There is no grand lobby with barrel vault ceiling; instead, the viewer is greeted by the sloping walls and gentle asymmetries of a rough-hewn cave, our most archaic form of shelter.

From Los Angeles Times

In his work, for example, he was as intrigued by the barrel vault — a form common to Roman architecture — as he was by Japanese concepts of in-between space, known as ma.

From Los Angeles Times

Johnson’s heavy-handed barrel vault has been replaced by a delicate glass V-shaped butterfly roof.

From New York Times

Kahn played with natural light in the Fort Worth building, suffused with skylights, reflectors and cycloid barrel vaults.

From New York Times

Masaccio’s painting shows Christ on the cross in front of a chapel with a barrel vault—but of course the chapel does not exist; it is entirely a painted chapel.

From Literature