reredos

[ reer-dos, reer-i-, rair-i- ]

See synonyms for reredos on Thesaurus.com

noun

a screen or a decorated part of the wall behind an altar in a church.
the back of a fireplace or of a medieval open hearth.

Origin of reredos

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, alteration of Anglo-French areredos, equivalent to Middle French arere “behind” + dos “back” (from Latin dorsum ); see arrears

Words Nearby reredos

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use reredos in a sentence

On the north side is part of a fourteenth-century reredos, probably that which stood behind the high altar.
Bell's Cathedrals: A Short Account of Romsey Abbey | Thomas Perkins
Traces of colour are to be seen in the reredos and the roof over it.
Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Gloucester [2nd ed.] | H. J. L. J. Mass
There is a good tower-arch, a five-shafted font, and excellent wagon-shaped roofs; chancel-screen and reredos are modern.
The Cornwall Coast | Arthur L. Salmon
In the Lutheran churches, though the Mass was gone, reredos and crucifix remained untouched.
History of the English People | John Richard Green
He became a constant guest at the castle, and Lady Montfort presented his church with a reredos of alabaster.
Endymion | Benjamin Disraeli

British Dictionary definitions for reredos

reredos

/ (ˈrɪədɒs) /

noun

a screen or wall decoration at the back of an altar, in the form of a hanging, tapestry, painting, or piece of metalwork or sculpture
another word for fireback (def. 1)

Origin of reredos

C14: from Old French areredos, from arere behind + dos back, from Latin dorsum

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

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