rose window

American

noun

a circular window decorated with tracery symmetrical about the center.

rose window British

noun

Also called: wheel window. rosette. a circular window, esp one that has ornamental tracery radiating from the centre to form a symmetrical roselike pattern

"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

Etymology

Origin of rose window

First recorded in 1765–75

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

An untitled 2006 work by Scottish artist Richard Wright is a secular re-imagining of an ecclesiastical rose window.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 21, 2024

The fugitives entered and left the attic through a rose window, usually under the cover of darkness.

From Reuters • May 4, 2022

People were also cheered to learn that crosses, a crown of thorns and the famous rose window also survived the flames.

From New York Times • Apr. 16, 2019

The rose window, he whispers, has a Star of David.

From Washington Post • Jan. 13, 2016

At that moment the rising sun’s rays reach the rose window above the altar, bathing the sanctuary in blue, red, and gold light.

From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023