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hypostyle

American  
[hahy-puh-stahyl, hip-uh-] / ˈhaɪ pəˌstaɪl, ˈhɪp ə- /

adjective

  1. having many columns carrying the roof or ceiling.

    a hypostyle hall.


noun

  1. a hypostyle structure.

hypostyle British  
/ ˈhaɪpəʊˌstaɪl /

adjective

  1. having a roof supported by columns

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a building constructed in this way

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of hypostyle

1825–35; < Greek hypóstȳlos resting on pillars, equivalent to hypo- hypo- + -stȳlos -style 2

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:

Squared-off columns and massive beams form an underwater hypostyle hall that is at once claustrophobic — dank, close and cool — and yet seemingly limitless.

From New York Times Aug. 8, 2016

A profusion of stout, mushroom-shaped columns gives the floors the feeling of a hypostyle hall in an ancient Egyptian temple.

From New York Times Jan. 21, 2015

At Karnak, in the hypostyle hall, the height of the capital is twelve and a quarter feet, and the greatest diameter twenty-one feet.

From Manual of Egyptian Archaeology and Guide to the Study of Antiquities in Egypt by Maspero, G. (Gaston)

Rameses, solitary and luxurious, was stretched upon a cushioned divan in the shadow of a canopy over the hypostyle.

From The Yoke A Romance of the Days when the Lord Redeemed the Children of Israel from the Bondage of Egypt by Miller, Elizabeth

Then he conducted Rameses to the hypostyle and gave the order to admit deputations within the wall of the temple.

From The Pharaoh and the Priest An Historical Novel of Ancient Egypt by Glovatski, Alexander

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