piscina

American  

[pi-sahy-nuh, pi-see-] / pɪˈsaɪ nə, pɪˈsi- /

noun

Ecclesiastical.

• piscinae
  plural

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

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piscina British  

/ pɪˈsiːnə /

noun

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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• piscinal
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• piscinae
  plural

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Etymology

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 -ine ¹

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

piscina piscinae

There is, nevertheless, a decorated piscina in the east wall to remind one of its former purpose.

From Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Wells A Description of Its Fabric and a Brief History of the Episcopal See by Percy Dearmer

In the south wall a piscina may be noticed, and on the north side of the altar stands a Renaissance font of grey-veined marble which was formerly in use in the nave.

From Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Manchester A Short History and Description of the Church and of the Collegiate Buildings now known as Chetham's Hospital by Rev. Thomas Perkins

In the unroofed part of the peristyle was a deep piscina of transparent water in which fish darted like flashes of golden lightning.

From Sónnica by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez

In the transept, which appears to be coeval with the chancel, in the east wall is a piscina, and the moulding immediately adjoining, marks the position of an altar that once had its position there.

From The Strife of the Roses and Days of the Tudors in the West by William Henry Hamilton Rogers

The fact that at Maxey Church, Northamptonshire, a piscina is to be found in the south wall of the clerestory would seem to enforce such a theory.

From Curious Church Customs and Cognate Subjects by William Andrews

Before the Reformation there certainly were two altars on that side, one at each extremity, where piscinae were discovered during the restorations of 1832.

From Bell's Cathedrals: Southwark Cathedral Formerly the Collegiate Church of St. Saviour, Otherwise St. Mary Overie. A Short History and Description of the Fabric, with Some Account of the College and the See by George Worley

Oysters from the Lucrine Lake were in great demand; snails were fattened in ponds for cooking, while the villas of the rich had their piscinae filled with fresh or salt-water fish.

From Beacon Lights of History, Volume 03 Ancient Achievements by John Lord

The religious houses had their piscinae and vivaria—their stews and fish-pools.

From The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 05 (From Charlemagne to Frederick Barbarossa) by Charles F. (Charles Francis) Horne

Snails were fed in ponds for the purpose, while the villas of the rich had their piscinae filled with fresh or salt-water fish.

From The Old Roman World, : the Grandeur and Failure of Its Civilization. by John Lord

Inlets and creeks, which wear even now an artificial air, mark the site of piscinae and refreshing lakes.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 08, No. 47, September, 1861 by Various

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