fan vault

American  

noun

1. a vault composed of a number of concave conoidal surfaces, usually four, springing from the corners of the vaulting compartment and touching or intersecting at the top, often decorated with ribs.

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Example Sentences

She moves quickly from caves to cathedrals and their architecture, including King’s College Chapel, in Cambridge, with its soaring 16th-century ceiling—the world’s largest fan vault, ribbed in interlocking patterns.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026

"It is an early example of the impact of the Liturgical Movement on church design with its highly unusual blue and white ceiling following the form of a medieval fan vault," Historic England said.

From BBC • Dec. 15, 2020

From their capitals the vaulting ribs spread out in every direction, being constructively not unlike an English fan vault, and covering the whole roof with a network of lines.

From Portuguese Architecture by Watson, Walter Crum