barrel vault

American  

noun

Architecture.

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

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barrel vault British  

noun

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

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Other Word Forms

• barrel-vaulted adjective

Etymology

Origin of barrel vault

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

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 • Dec. 30, 2022

And “the barrel vault over the library distinctly recalls Stourhead,” an 18th-century Palladian house in the English county of Wiltshire, he noted.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 3, 2022

The colors of this piece are remarkable, from the deep blue of the Madonna’s robes to the alabaster skin of the Christ child, all beneath a golden barrel vault.

From Washington Times • Sep. 21, 2019

Their proposal: a barrel vault higher than Grand Central Terminal, adorned with a 10-story clock said to be the world’s biggest.

From Slate • Sep. 21, 2018

The chapel is rectangular, with a barrel vault.

From The Shores of the Adriatic The Austrian Side, The Küstenlande, Istria, and Dalmatia by Jackson, F. Hamilton (Frederick Hamilton)