ciborium

[ si-bawr-ee-uhm, -bohr- ]

/ sɪˈbɔr i əm, -ˈboʊr- /

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noun, plural ci·bo·ri·a

[si-bawr-ee-uh, -bohr-]. /sɪˈbɔr i ə, -ˈboʊr-/.

a permanent canopy placed over an altar; baldachin.

any container designed to hold the consecrated bread or sacred wafers for the Eucharist.

Archaic. a severy.

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Origin of ciborium

1645–55; <Latin: drinking-cup <Greek kibṓrion literally, the seed vessel of the Egyptian lotus, which the cup apparently resembled

Words nearby ciborium

Ciardi, cib., cibarium, Cibber, Cíbola, ciborium, C.I.C., CICA, cicada, cicada killer, cicala

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use ciborium in a sentence

Nor can we forget the foamy ciborium of the Church of St Lawrence.
Great Artists, Vol 1.|Jennie Ellis Keysor
The cover, fallen to one side, had a number of bullet marks, as the ciborium itself had.
Our Part in the Great War|Arthur Gleason
Upon the altar are two candlesticks and a ciborium: rising out of the latter is the figure of our Blessed Lord.
Churches and Church Ornaments|William Durandus
At the centre of the chord stood the high altar beneath a ciborium, resting on four pillars of porphyry.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 3|Various

The altar stands beneath a lofty ciborium, supported by marble columns, with a canopy on smaller shafts above.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 3|Various

British Dictionary definitions for ciborium

ciborium

/ (sɪˈbɔːrɪəm) /

noun plural -ria (-rɪə) Christianity

a goblet-shaped lidded vessel used to hold consecrated wafers in Holy Communion

a freestanding canopy fixed over an altar and supported by four pillars

Word Origin for ciborium

C17: from Medieval Latin, from Latin: drinking cup, from Greek kibōrion cup-shaped seed vessel of the Egyptian lotus, hence, a cup

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