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

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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The Bidens traveled to a private home in Santa Ynez after attending the inauguration of President Trump in the packed rotunda of the U.S.

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“President Kennedy, who at one point worked as a senator in this building and would often walk through this very rotunda, once said, ‘In a democracy, every citizen, regardless of interest in politics, holds office.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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