piscina

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

/ pɪˈsaɪ nə, pɪˈsi- /

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.

QUIZZES

CAN YOU ACE THIS QUIZ ABOUT “COMPLIMENT” VS. “COMPLEMENT”?

Take this quiz to see if you really know the difference between “compliment” and “complement"!

Question 1 of 11

“Compliment” and “complement” had a shared meaning a long time ago, but today they are no longer interchangeable.

True

False

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

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

Words nearby piscina

piscean, pisces, pisci-, pisciculture, pisciform, piscina, piscine, piscis austrinus, piscivorous, pisco, pisgah

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for piscina

A complete private bath must contain the piscina, or plunge.
The Turkish Bath|Robert Owen Allsop
The sanctuary contains a sedile and piscina, and a stoup and a rougher piscina will be found in the nave.
Somerset|G.W. Wade and J.H. Wade
The altar, where a weekly requiem had been said for them, was gone, and the footpace and piscina alone showed where it had stood.
By What Authority?|Robert Hugh Benson
On the north wall is a third, and in the south wall a piscina with two-cusped arch and projecting basin.
Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Ripon|Cecil Walter Charles Hallett

Here is a lavatory, and a piscina at the east end marks the site of a former altar.
The Cathedrals of Great Britain|P. H. Ditchfield

British Dictionary definitions for piscina

piscina

/ (pɪˈsiːnə) /

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 forms of piscina

piscinal (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