dossal

American  

[dos-uhl] / ˈdɒs əl /

Or dossel

noun

• dossals
  plural

1. Also an ornamental hanging placed at the back of an altar or at the sides of the chancel.

2. Archaic. dosser.

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dossal British  

/ ˈdɒsəl /

noun

1. an ornamental hanging, placed at the back of an altar or at the sides of a chancel

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• dossals
  plural

Etymology

Origin of dossal

1650–60; < Medieval Latin dossale, for Latin dorsale, neuter of dorsālis, equivalent to dors ( um ) back + -ālis -al ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dossal

The dossal is used where there is no reredos and usually is of the Church color for the Festival or Season.

From The American Church Dictionary and Cyclopedia by William James Miller

In 1647 a cushion was made of the dossal.

From The Cathedral Church of York Bell's Cathedrals: A Description of Its Fabric and A Brief History of the Archi-Episcopal See by A. (Arthur) Clutton-Brock

Leaning heavily upon the lady, at the end he won to her maiden's chamber, where there was a fair bed covered with a rich dossal of broidered silk, edged with fur.

From French Mediaeval Romances from the Lays of Marie de France by Marie de France

I called in many a craftsmaster    To fix emblazoned glass, To figure Cross and Sepulchre    On dossal, boss, and brass.

From Poems of the Past and the Present by Thomas Hardy