lunette

[loo-net]

noun

1. any of various objects or spaces of crescentlike or semicircular outline or section.

2. Architecture.,  (in the plane of a wall) an area enframed by an arch or vault.

3. a painting, sculpture, or window filling such an area.

4. Fortification.,  a work consisting of a salient angle with two flanks and an open gorge.

5. Ordnance.,  a towing ring in the trail plate of a towed vehicle, as a gun carriage.

6. Ecclesiastical.,  Luna.

lunette

/ luːˈnɛt /

noun

1. anything that is shaped like a crescent

2. an oval or circular opening to admit light in a dome

3. a semicircular panel containing a window, mural, or sculpture

4. a ring attached to a vehicle, into which a hook is inserted so that it can be towed

5. a type of fortification like a detached bastion

6. Also called: lune. RC Church a case fitted with a bracket to hold the consecrated host

Word History and Origins

Origin of lunette¹

1570–80; < French, diminutive of lune moon < Latin lūna; -ette

Word History and Origins

Origin of lunette¹

C16: from French: crescent, from lune moon, from Latin lūna