bema

[ bee-muh ]

noun,plural be·ma·ta

[bee-muh-tuh], /ˈbi mə tə/, be·mas.

Eastern Church. the enclosed space surrounding the altar; the sanctuary or chancel.
(in a Christian basilica) an open space between the end of the nave arcade and the apse.

bimah.
a platform for public speaking.

Origin of bema

1675–85; <Greek bêma step, platform, equivalent to bē- (verbid stem of baínein to step, go; see come) + -ma (noun suffix denoting result of action)

Words Nearby bema

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use bema in a sentence

In the chord of the bema stood the holy table with its ciborium or canopy of gold.
Lippincott's Magazine, Vol. 20, No. 33, November 1877 | Various
His friends and relatives tried in vain to stop him making himself ridiculous and being dragged down from the bema.
The Memorabilia | Xenophon
Looking out from his place at the foot of the pillar, he saw a man standing far off in the lofty bema.
The Blue Flower, and Others | Henry van Dyke
The bema, on which he sat to administer justice, was probably the golden throne of Archelaus.
Little Folks (October 1884) | Various
It is then carried round the building, and forms the impost moulding of the side arches in the bema and of the east window.
Byzantine Churches in Constantinople | Alexander Van Millingen

British Dictionary definitions for bema

bema

bimah or bima

/ (ˈbiːmə) /

noun

the speaker's platform in the assembly in ancient Athens
Eastern Orthodox Church a raised area surrounding the altar in a church; the sanctuary

Judaism another word for almemar

Origin of bema

C17: via Late Latin, from Greek bēma, from bainein to go

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

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