cyclorama

[sahy-kluh-ram-uh, -rah-muh]

noun

1. a pictorial representation, in perspective, of a landscape, battle, etc., on the inner wall of a cylindrical room or hall, viewed by spectators occupying a position in the center.

2. Theater.,  a curved wall or drop at the back of a stage, used for creating an illusion of unlimited space or distance in the background of exterior scenes or for obtaining lighting effects.

cyclorama

/ ˌsaɪkləʊˈræmɪk, ˌsaɪkləʊˈrɑːmə /

noun

1. Also called: panorama. a large picture, such as a battle scene, on the interior wall of a cylindrical room, designed to appear in natural perspective to a spectator in the centre

2. theatre

   1. a curtain or wall curving along the back of a stage, usually painted to represent the sky and serving to enhance certain lighting effects

   2. any set of curtains that enclose the back and sides of a stage setting

Other Word Forms

• cycloramic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of cyclorama¹

1830–40; cycl- + Greek ( h ) órāma view; panorama

Word History and Origins

Origin of cyclorama¹

C19: _cyclo- + Greek horama view, sight, on the model of panorama

Example Sentences

He called the “cottage industry” of allegations and conspiracy theories a “grim cyclorama of deceit and sensation” and said those promoting such tales were motived by money.

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The word cyclorama refers to the seamless panel at the rear of stage sets, often used to provide the illusion of infinite sky.

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The video design by Luke Halls creates a poetic cyclorama of sea and skyline that conjures history in black-and-white imagery and occasionally summons the nightmares of its characters in gory color.

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If anything, with its mismatched props, barnyard animals and flat beige cyclorama, it depicts a group of attractive people amusingly failing to make a music video.

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An adjacent, interactive touch-screen provides information on what today occupies the scenes in the replica cyclorama.

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