lunette

American  

[loo-net] / luˈnɛt /

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.

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lunette British  

/ 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

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Etymology

Origin of lunette

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

Explanation

One type of lunette is a little half-moon shaped window that is part of a domed ceiling. You're more likely to see a lunette in a cathedral than in your own home. During battles, military lunettes gave protection to troops taking cover behind them — they were temporary forts, curved into a protective shape and placed near but outside the main fortification. The curved window or opening also called a lunette is most often found in large structures like the Sistine Chapel and the Library of Congress. In Middle French, lunette means "little moon."

Example Sentences

Entering beneath the lunette or peacock window, the oldest part of the historical structure, visitors find themselves in the sheltering canopy of the Palm House beneath the Conservatory’s central glass dome.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 15, 2022

Mrs. Trump, who spent years as a high-fashion model, looks both dignified and beautiful, standing before one of the arch-topped lunette windows located in the private residence of the White House.

From Washington Times • Apr. 3, 2017

The gray-and-white marble bathroom features the lunette window and a sloping ceiling.

From Washington Post • Mar. 27, 2017

A lunette window near the ceiling splashed the canvas with light at an angle similar to that of the implicit light source in Caravaggio’s composition.

From The New Yorker • Nov. 20, 2016

There is neither predella nor lunette at Borgo S. Sepolcro.

From Great Masters in Painting: Perugino by Williamson, George C.