ciborium

American  

[si-bawr-ee-uhm, -bohr-] / sɪˈbɔr i əm, -ˈboʊr- /

noun

plural

ciboria

1. a permanent canopy placed over an altar; baldachin.

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

3. Archaic. a severy.

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ciborium British  

/ sɪˈbɔːrɪəm /

noun

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

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

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Etymology

Origin of ciborium

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

Example Sentences

At St. Alphonsa’s on Monday, the police said they believed the break-in was a burglary, and noted that a DVD player was taken with the two ceremonial vessels, a monstrance and a ciborium.

From New York Times • Feb. 2, 2015

Its next choice, a ciborium given to “France or Germany” and assigned a date in the late 14th or early 15th century, was less inspired.

From New York Times • Nov. 18, 2011

London Silversmith Gerald Benney, designer of the ciborium for Coventry's new cathedral, offers a squat, modern tea service for $1,080.

From Time Magazine Archive

There he removes a ciborium of communion hosts consecrated by the parish priest the week before and distributes them to his fellow congregants.

From Time Magazine Archive

On the vault of the ciborium and on the jamb of the main door are inscriptions, dated respectively 1332 and 1324, recording their erection by "Joannis de Bvtvane, archiep: Jadren."

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