piscina

[pi-sahy-nuh, pi-see-]

noun, plural pis·ci·nae [pi-sahy-nee, pi-see-] /pɪˈsaɪ ni, pɪˈsi-/. Ecclesiastical.

a basin with a drain used for certain ablutions, now generally in the sacristy.

Origin of piscina

1590–1600; < Medieval Latin, special use of Latin piscīna a fish pond, swimming pool, equivalent to pisc(is) fish + -īna, feminine of -īnus -ine¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for piscina

Historical Examples of piscina

Well, she got to Lourdes, and dipped her hand into the piscina.
The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete
Emile Zola
There are remains of a piscina in this chapel, but very much battered.
Bell's Cathedrals: The Abbey Church of Tewkesbury
H. J. L. J. Mass
There are ambries in the walls and an eastern altar with a piscina.
Scottish Cathedrals and Abbeys
Dugald Butler and Herbert Story
Close to the sedilia is a piscina decorated in a similar manner.
The Evolution Of An English Town
Gordon Home
The piscina or basin built in the wall is the place where you must look for the change.
Cheshire
Charles E. Kelsey

British Dictionary definitions for piscina

piscina

noun plural -nae (-niː) or -nas

RC Church a stone basin, with a drain, in a church or sacristy where water used at Mass is poured away

Derived Formspiscinal (ˈpɪsɪnəl), adjective

Word Origin for piscina

C16: from Latin: fish pond, from piscis a fish

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