transept
Americannoun
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any major transverse part of the body of a church, usually crossing the nave, at right angles, at the entrance to the choir.
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an arm of this, on either side of the central aisle of a church.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of transept
From the Anglo-Latin word trānseptum, dating back to 1530–40. See trans-, septum
Explanation
A transept is the section of a building that runs perpendicular to its main part, forming a kind of cross shape. Many transepts are found in churches. If you can remember that trans, "across" in Latin, sometimes conveys the idea of "cross," you've nailed this one: it's the cross part in a cross-shaped church, the other section being the "nave." The Latin word saeptum forms the end of transept. It means "fence or enclosure." You're most likely to come across a transept in a Romanesque or Gothic church, although it can also mean a hall or wing that crosses the main part of a building.
Vocabulary lists containing transept
Quiz yourself on these words spoken by the man at the center of the "Laurel" / "Yanny" craze!
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Art History
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Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction
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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.
It also invites comparison with Giotto’s celebrated fresco of the crucifixion in the transept of the lower church.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 11, 2026
Four weeks later, on the day of the concert, Hulthage purchased a tuxedo but had yet to change as he helped set up chairs for the strings in the transept of Westwood United Methodist Church.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 22, 2025
Outside, Villeneuve rattled off a list of project milestones: “The galleries are finished, the north and south transept done.”
From Washington Post • Mar. 18, 2023
I witnessed the spectacle from a seat in the abbey’s north transept, my view obstructed by a great stone pillar.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 19, 2022
By the first of May, 1302, the transept and most of its vaulting was complete.
From "Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction" by David Macaulay
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
