triclinium

[trahy-klin-ee-uhm]

noun

Roman History.

plural

triclinia 

1. a couch extending along three sides of a table, for reclining on at meals.

2. a dining room, especially one containing such a couch.

triclinium

/ traɪˈklɪnɪəm /

noun

1. an arrangement of three couches around a table for reclining upon while dining

2. a dining room, esp one containing such an arrangement of couches

Word History and Origins

Origin of triclinium¹

First recorded in 1640–50; from Latin trīclīnium, from Greek triklī́nion, diminutive of tríklīnos “having three couches (adjective), dining room so furnished (noun),” equivalent to tri- tri- + klī́n(ē) “couch” ( clinic ) + -ion diminutive suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of triclinium¹

C17: from Latin, from Greek triklinion , from _tri- + klinē a couch

Example Sentences

Elsewhere is a reconstitution of a dining room, or “triclinium,” in which wealthy Romans reclined on a three-sided masonry couch at meal times.

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The Latin word for dining room, triclinium, derives from the three sofas that typically accommodated reclining Roman diners.

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Still, I think it would have been pleasant to banquet here, on some triclinium, reclining after the antique fashion, and waited upon by slaves according to the style of Lucullus or Trimalchio.

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The first of these is the famous mosaic of the Lateran triclinium, constructed by Pope Leo III., about A.D.

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Other rooms round the court were the triclinium, or dining room, and cubicula or bedchambers.

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