rotunda

[roh-tuhn-duh]

noun

1. a round building, especially one with a dome.

2. a large and high circular hall or room in a building, especially one surmounted by a dome.

rotunda

/ rəʊˈtʌndə /

noun

1. a building or room having a circular plan, esp one that has a dome

Word History and Origins

Origin of rotunda¹

1680–90; alteration of Italian rotonda, noun use of feminine of rotondo < Latin rotundus rotund

Word History and Origins

Origin of rotunda¹

C17: from Italian rotonda , from Latin rotundus round, from rota a wheel

Example Sentences

“But she walked into the rotunda and she started reading Lincoln’s words that are engraved into the wall. It was such a moving moment.”

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Flames also tore through Rogers’ white-and-green horse stable, which had an elegant central rotunda.

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Standing in the central rotunda in 2014, beneath the cathedral-esque vaulted ceilings, it was hard to take in: I gazed down cellblock after cellblock, stretching out like spokes on a wheel.

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And it incinerated his white-and-green stable with its stately central rotunda.

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Built in 1939 as the Floral Hall, the Ocean Room is a distinctive rotunda building, and for the past 50 years has operated as a night club and function venue.

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Related Words

• entrance 
• foyer 
• gallery 
• hallway 
• lobby 
• room