exedra
Americannoun
-
exedrae
plural
-
(in ancient Greece and Rome) a room or covered area open on one side, used as a meeting place.
-
a permanent outdoor bench, semicircular in plan and having a high back.
noun
-
a building, room, portico, or apse containing a continuous bench, used in ancient Greece and Rome for holding discussions
-
an outdoor bench in a recess
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of exedra
1700–10; < Latin: hall furnished with seats < Greek exédra (covered) walk with seats, equivalent to ex- ex- 3 + ( h ) édra seat, bench
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The exedra — a Greek term for what became a popular garden feature in the 18th century — has a statue of Eros at its center in commemoration of the Seilheimers’ 40th wedding anniversary.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 24, 2020
A collaboration by Augustus Saint-Gaudens on an exedra designed by architect Stanford White, the statue, cast in 1880, stands above reliefs of two female figures representing Loyalty and Courage.
From New York Times ● Sep. 23, 2018
It consists of an exedra and pedestal surmounted by a figure of Peace . . . backed by an illuminated cross.
From Time Magazine Archive
The Rev. Prebendary Scarth omits altogether to figure the southern rectangular exedra, found at the same time as the last named discovery.
From The Excavations of Roman Baths at Bath by Charles E. Davis
The people were delighted by the removal of the imperial exedra in the circus, whereby five thousand additional places were provided.
From Great Men and Famous Women. Vol. 1 A series of pen and pencil sketches of the lives of more than 200 of the most prominent personages in History by Charles F. (Charles Francis) Horne
Four roofless exedrae, or terraced pits, provide outdoor spots for plays, lectures, flirting, and even small protest meetings.
From Time Magazine Archive
In summer apartments and in exedrae where there is no smoke nor soot to hurt them, they should be made in relief.
From The Ten Books on Architecture by Vitruvius Pollio
The vault, if there was one, over the semi-circular exedrae must have been hemispherical.
From The Excavations of Roman Baths at Bath by Charles E. Davis
Inwardly disturbed, yet meeting the lady's look with a smile, Coryna turned aside between the marble columns into one of the exedrae or rooms for conversation.
From The Mother of St. Nicholas A Story of Duty and Peril by Grant Balfour
But in the case of exedrae or square oeci, let the height be brought up to one and one half times the width.
From The Ten Books on Architecture by Vitruvius Pollio
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
