transept

American  

[tran-sept] / ˈtræn sɛpt /

noun

Architecture.

1. any major transverse part of the body of a church, usually crossing the nave, at right angles, at the entrance to the choir.

2. an arm of this, on either side of the central aisle of a church.

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transept British  

/ ˈtrænsɛpt /

noun

1. either of the two wings of a cruciform church at right angles to the nave

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Other Word Forms

• transeptal adjective
• transeptally adverb

Etymology

Origin of transept

From the Anglo-Latin word trānseptum, dating back to 1530–40. See trans-, septum

Example Sentences

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

Scientists say they are nearly certain a lead coffin found beneath the transept is that of Joachim du Bellay, who died in Paris in 1560 at the age of about 37.

From BBC • Sep. 18, 2024

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

The fire at St. John’s destroyed much of the unfinished north transept of the 19th-century Gothic Revival structure, silenced its grand organ and left what remained blackened with thick, tarry deposits.

From Reuters • Apr. 18, 2019

By 1331 the carpenters and roofers had completed work on the spire, which rose above the crossing of the nave and the transept.

From "Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction" by David Macaulay