chevet

[shuh-vey]

noun

an apse, as of a Gothic cathedral.

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 of chevet

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

a semicircular or polygonal east end of a church, esp a French Gothic church, often with a number of attached apses

Word Origin for chevet

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