parclose

[pahr-klohz]

noun

(in a church) a screen dividing one area from another, as a chapel from an aisle.

Origin of parclose

1300–50; Middle English < Middle French, noun use of feminine of parclos, past participle of parclore to enclose fully. See per-, close

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for parclose

Historical Examples of parclose

At Wensley we saw the carved sides of what was once their parclose.
Motor tours in Yorkshire
Mrs. Rodolph Stawell
Great inconvenience often arises from the exclusive character of the parclose.
Stones of the Temple
Walter Field
The Parclose Screen, separating the choir from the presbytery, is a peculiar feature of this Cathedral.
The Cathedrals of Great Britain
P. H. Ditchfield
The carved sides of this were originally part of the parclose by which the tombs of the Scropes were surrounded in Easby Abbey.
Motor tours in Yorkshire
Mrs. Rodolph Stawell
The people occupy the choir, hemmed in between these rails and the parclose screens under the side arches.
Some Account of Gothic Architecture in Spain
George Edmund Street

British Dictionary definitions for parclose

parclose

noun

a screen or railing in a church separating off an altar, chapel, etc

Word Origin for parclose

C14: from Old French, noun use of past participle of parclore to close off; see per-, close 1

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