retable

American  

[ri-tay-buhl, ree-tay-] / rɪˈteɪ bəl, ˈriˌteɪ- /

noun

1. a decorative structure raised above an altar at the back, often forming a frame for a picture, bas-relief, or the like, and sometimes including a shelf or shelves, as for ornaments.

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retable British  

/ rɪˈteɪbəl /

noun

1. an ornamental screenlike structure above and behind an altar, esp one used as a setting for a religious picture or carving

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Etymology

Origin of retable

1815–25; < French, equivalent to Old French re ( re ) at the back (< Latin retrō ) + table table; compare Medieval Latin retrōtabulum

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

retable

An immense retable is placed at the head of the nave.

From The Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine by M. F. (Milburg Francisco) Mansfield

Above the retable is the Madonna with two saints on either side: the crucifix surmounts the whole composition.

From Donatello, by Lord Balcarres by David Lindsay, Earl of Crawford

To this building the retable of the high-altar, dedicated in 1469 and now in the north aisle, belongs, still called La Madonna del Coro.

From The Shores of the Adriatic The Austrian Side, The Küstenlande, Istria, and Dalmatia by F. Hamilton (Frederick Hamilton) Jackson

Back of the Altar, and raised above it, is a narrow shelf, called the retable, upon which the several ornaments of the Altar are placed.

From The Worship of the Church and The Beauty of Holiness by J. A. (Jacob Asbury) Regester

At the head of the left aisle is a chapel which also has an elaborate marble retable of the same period.

From The Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine by M. F. (Milburg Francisco) Mansfield

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