exedra

[ek-si-druh, ek-see-]

noun

plural

exedrae 

1. (in ancient Greece and Rome) a room or covered area open on one side, used as a meeting place.

2. a permanent outdoor bench, semicircular in plan and having a high back.

exedra

/ ˈɛksɪdrə, ɛkˈsiː- /

noun

1. a building, room, portico, or apse containing a continuous bench, used in ancient Greece and Rome for holding discussions

2. an outdoor bench in a recess

Other Word Forms

• exedral adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of exedra¹

1700–10; < Latin: hall furnished with seats < Greek exédra (covered) walk with seats, equivalent to ex- ex- ³ + ( h ) édra seat, bench

Word History and Origins

Origin of exedra¹

C18: via Latin from Greek, from hedra seat

Example Sentences

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.

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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.

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Tired after a long walk, I fell asleep under a fig tree and had a strange dream, full of words whose relation to one another I didn’t understand: mouth, nasturtium, exedra, unicorn.

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It is still unclear whether the watch vanished from Gandolfini’s room in the Boscolo Exedra Hotel in Rome, Italy, or whether the actor was wearing it when he collapsed.

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Roberto Cinti was driving the Ferrari 599 GTB, one of the most powerful vehicles in the world, from a parking garage to the Hotel Exedra down the road when he lost control, according to local media.

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