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chevet

[shuh-vey]
noun
  1. an apse, as of a Gothic cathedral.
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Origin of chevet

1800–10; < French, earlier chevès, Old French chevez ≪ Latin capitium opening or covering for the head. See caput
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for chevet

Historical Examples

  • The first light in the Lyons chevet celebrates the local martyrs.

    How France Built Her Cathedrals

    Elizabeth Boyle O'Reilly

  • Beyond the chevet stood a tower of which the actual one is a replica.

    How France Built Her Cathedrals

    Elizabeth Boyle O'Reilly

  • The chapels of the chevet were finished at the end of the 13th or beginning of the 14th century.

    The Churches of Paris

    S. Sophia Beale

  • Such deeds were not uncommon, and Chevet had made no friends to cherish his memory.

    Beyond the Frontier

    Randall Parrish

  • My father died in that faith, Monsieur, but Chevet called me a beggar.

    Beyond the Frontier

    Randall Parrish

British Dictionary definitions for chevet

chevet

noun
  1. a semicircular or polygonal east end of a church, esp a French Gothic church, often with a number of attached apses
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Word Origin

C19: from French: pillow, from Latin capitium, from caput head
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